10 Secrets to Organizing Kids for School Success: From the Locker to the Backpack to the Home Study Area
Some children seem to instinctively know how to organize themselves to be successful in school. They are never late, they always do their homework on time, and they can find everything they need in their backpack. But in today’s world of constant distractions and an overwhelming number of organizational tools, it’s no wonder so many kids are struggling to find what works for them. Below are 10 secrets to ensure your child’s success in school.
secret 1 Let your child make the decisions. To ensure success, it is critical that your child be involved and make their own decisions about the details. You can guide them, but you must release control. The goal is to empower them and allow them to maintain their new system, so they need to be involved in the design and feel ownership. Being involved also helps them develop skills that they can then apply to all areas of their lives.
secret 2 Take an inventory of activities and items that need to be organized. Here is a sample inventory you can use as a starting point.
- Books
- paper
- writing supplies
- Tools like calculators, etc.
- Personal supplies such as money, lunch, makeup, etc.
- Class schedule
- Class notes and handouts (current and past)
- Task (to be done and completed)
- School announcements/flyers/permits, etc.
- Research projects
- Extracurricular Activities Material
- Electronics (MP3 players, laptops, computers, PDAs, etc.)
secret 3 Create an integrated system. Don’t just organize little snippets here and there or they won’t all work together. Once you and your child have created a list of the things you need to organize, set up an integrated system that includes strategies for storing the items you need in both the locker at school and the study area at home. The backpack should only be used to transport items between home and school, NOT for storage. Every item in the backpack must have a home outside the backpack. If home and school have a place for your child to store things, then she can easily clean it regularly and bring only what she really needs for a given day!
secret 4 Give everything a home in your locker, backpack, and home study area. For example, books should always be in the same place in the locker, and children should only bring what they need between trips to the locker.
secret 5 Make things easy to access and use. A locker shelf may be needed to separate items for easy access. Use a basket for the top shelf that can be hard to reach, and place less frequently used items in there. Use magnetic hooks to hold a clear bag with personal items, or maybe supplies for after school activities. Add a magnetic board or use magnets to post a copy of frequently referenced items like class schedules. You can even post a map with a locker diagram showing where items should go in each locker area to remind you to put things where they belong. This also works for the backpack!
secret 6 Keep it simple. Don’t get too complicated. Coach your child to choose organizational strategies and tools that are as easy to use and follow as possible. For example, keep a file box at home where your child can keep past grades and class notes, but don’t create too many folders. One or two folders per class should be enough. You don’t need separate folders for tests, homework, projects, notes, handouts, etc. for each class. You will not submit documents if the system is too cumbersome. Don’t let the file box get too full! That’s also a sure way to get your child to give up on the presentation.
secret 7 Switch it on. Consider a battery operated light that you push to turn on if the locker is dark. Dark areas often get messy because people naturally don’t like to be in dark places! And if you can’t see well, it’s hard to find what you need.
secret 8 Edit regularly. Once a month, review the contents of the locker and edit it. Are there any homeless items that should receive a home? Is it necessary to add something due to changing needs? Does something have to be removed because it is no longer used?
secret 9 Assign a permanent place to “To Do” and “Due To Do”. You can combine assignments for all classes in one place to keep it simple. You can use a sturdy pocket wallet, an accordion file, a sturdy file folder, or anything that appeals to your child, just make sure they like it! 🙂 Graded homework should be brought home and filed daily, not kept in a backpack. The key to choosing tools is to make sure that:
- Tools are something that attracts him.
- Everything is really easy to find in the backpack and to take in and out.
- Super easy to use: as few steps as possible.
secret 10 To encourage success in school, teach (without yelling or scolding) your children to:
- Plan ahead for each day and night.
- Unload the backpack every day.
- Submit older school documents at least once a week.
- Rearrange as needs change – few systems last forever!
© 2006 Ariane Benefit, Simple and Orderly Living
