Neat & Simple Tips to Help Kids Organize For School Success!

Some kids seem to instinctively know how to organize themselves to succeed in school. They are never late, always get their homework done on time, and can find anything they need in their backpack. Other kids need your guidance. Below are 4 ways you can help your child organize for success at school.

1. Provide organizing suggestions, but let your child make the final decisions on how to organize. The goal is to empower and enable them to maintain their new system, so they must be involved in the design and feel ownership. Being involved also helps them develop skills they can later apply to all areas of their lives.
2. Help your child make an inventory of all the activities and items that need to be organized. Here is an example inventory you can use as a starting point.
   • Books
   • Paper
   • Writing Supplies
   • Tools such as calculators, etc.
   • Personal Supplies such as money, lunch, makeup etc.
   • Class Schedule
   • Class notes & handouts (current & past)
   • Homework (to be done & completed)
   • School Announcements/Flyers/Permission Slips, etc.
   • Research Projects
   • Extra Curricular Activities supplies like gym shoes
   • Electronics (MP3 players, Laptop, Computer, PDA Etc.)
3. Once you and child have created a list of the things she needs to organize, set up an integrated system that includes strategies for storing items she needs in her school locker, backpack, AND home study area.  Based on what she needs to store you can create more space for storing things in her locker with a locker shelf or even a hanging basket.  The trick is to have a plan for the organizing items before you buy them.
4. The backpack should be used only to transport items back and forth between home and school - NOT as storage. Every item in the backpack should have a home outside of the backpack. If home and school each have a place for your child to store things, then she can easily clean it out regularly and carry only what she really needs for a given day!

May this school year be your best ever!

Comments

[Pamela]

Great suggestions. It would be wonderful if parents take time in teaching their kids these great tips. They will most certainly find it very useful.

[Alan]

These are wonderful tips for the children. I agree that our children need all the help to keep them as organize as possible.