How to set your child up for success in the coming school year!
Worried about organization and memory issues going into the school year? These tips may help:
Organization is a major key to educational success. As a parent, one of your most important roles when it comes to facilitating your child’s education is helping them come up with a system for staying organized. This year, getting organized is even more critical. Not sure where to begin? Here are some great ideas to get you started!
Designate a workspace space
When you create a designated workspace for your child, you give them a space that they can settle into and make their own. Supply them with a pencil holder or pencil box for small school supplies. Provide ample lighting. Give your child the creative freedom to decorate the walls around their desk or table with pictures, photos or words that inspire them.
Sort through materials weekly
A child’s backpack, folders and the recesses of their desk can quickly become disorganized. Make it a weekly habit to go through these spaces with your child, tossing garbage, recycling old papers, organizing homework assignments, returning pencils and erasers to their proper places, etc. Helping your student keep their materials organized allows them to work more efficiently and minimizes frustration.
Create a schedule
Schedules lend a sense of predictability and security for kids and help facilitate an environment where they can thrive. Take time each weekend to put together a schedule for the coming week and hang it up in your child’s workspace. Make sure to include distance-learning school hours, Zoom meetings with teachers, project due dates and any extracurricular activities your child is involved in. Add homework assignments throughout the week as they are assigned. We recommend using a backward planner, you can request a copy with this link and simply put “Please send your backward planner” in the comments. Backward Planner
Implement a daily routine
Similarly, create a daily routine and stick to it as much as possible. Create a set time for working on schoolwork, a predictable dinner time and a consistent bedtime so your child is prepared, nourished and well-rested for school. Educate your child about the effects of screen time on sleep and implement a screen time cutoff each day.
Get organized the night before
The morning sets the tone for the entire day so don’t wait until then to prepare for the school day. If your child is going out to school the next day, encourage them to pack their backpack and lunch and lay out their clothes the night before. Have them participate as much as they can at their age. Any preparations you make the night before will contribute to a more peaceful school morning.
Color-code folders and notebooks
Assign each subject a color. For example, the yellow folder and notebook are for English and the red notebook and folder are for science. Color-coding subject materials makes it easier for your student to locate the correct notebook to write in or the correct folder to put homework in, helping them feel more competent, prepared, and organized.
Use mnemonic devices
Dating back to the time of the ancient Greeks, mnemonics are helpful when it comes to organizing information. These memory devices help a person retrieve information that is otherwise difficult to recall. Mnemonics can be used to help your child remember anything from letters on the music staff to planets in the solar system or the name of a person they just met. If your child is struggling with memorization, help them come up with mnemonic devices that can help!
As you head into the new year, set your student up for success with some new organizational approaches. If you’re looking for more ideas that you can implement to help your student succeed, check out one of our recent posts here! If you find that your student continues to struggle with learning, reading, attention, and organizational issues contact us to learn more about how brain training can help!
