When summer starts to turn to fall, that means one thing for many families: It’s back-to-school time. It’s natural for many habits and routines to be disrupted during summer break. As kids head back to school, parents can help their children get organized.
Organization is essential for success in many aspects of life, and it’s a skill that every age can learn to improve. When it comes to school, organization is essential for your child’s academic success. For elementary school students, organization helps them develop habits that will benefit them in the future, such as prioritization and time management. For older students, being organized means being able to track deadlines and find important schoolwork.
In this blog post, we’re here to help you prepare your child to return to school with the right organizational tips and tricks.
How to help your child get organized when returning to school
Organization isn’t a seasonal skill. Your children should continue to develop and hone their organizational skills every day, even during summer vacation. That way, when they return to school, they aren’t scrambling to readjust back into the right mindset for academic success.
Staying organized in school helps your child’s academic performance in many ways. Effective organization can boost their productivity and increase their confidence in their abilities. It also helps prepare them for any unforeseen changes.
The key to helping your child stay organized is to help them develop habits and strategies that they can sustain on their own throughout the school year. Depending on the grade, schedules, and personal strengths of your child, this can mean everything from helping them set up an organizational system to reminding them to complete an organizational task.
If you’re trying to help your child stay organized as they return to school, here are a few strategies and techniques worth trying:
- Use a calendar — A calendar is a tried-and-true organizational tool. Plus, it can be used for many aspects of your child’s life. It can track their important school assignments, social functions, and extracurriculars. They can also schedule study sessions and chores. Encourage your child to set up a calendar once they receive their class syllabi. Not only can they use a physical calendar, but they can also use a digital calendar on their phone. They can even give you permission to access it as a way to help them stay on track.
- Color-code — Using a color-coding system for different aspects of a student’s schoolwork can make a significant difference in their organization. It can also benefit their study strategies and note-taking. They can color-code supplies to differentiate classes or prioritize information in their notes with colored highlighters. They can even use bright sticky notes to indicate priorities in their planners. For example, blue could be for exams; pink could be for sports practice.
- Create a homework folder — Many students organize their folders, notebooks, and binders by class. However, these notebooks can contain past assignments that are no longer relevant as well as current ongoing projects. Many classes start off with the teacher asking for homework to be turned in. Have a designated folder for all completed homework to reduce the amount of time they need to sort through other supplies. It also decreases the risk of it getting mixed up with the wrong papers.
- Set intentional goals — Goal-setting is essential for every stage of a child’s life, and organization plays a key role in helping to achieve those goals. They can break down an intentional goal into manageable steps, including the resources and time requirements needed to get there. It helps them prioritize their wants and needs to keep their eyes on the prize.
- Practice mindfulness — Being organized can help your child’s mental health. Even so, it’s not always easy for them to be in the right mindset to organize their schoolwork. They can become distracted or feel overwhelmed by the amount of work due. That’s why practicing mindfulness can improve their organizational skills. By taking a step back and focusing on the present, they can adjust their mindset. It'll help them become more focused on what needs to be done and reaffirm the goals they are trying to reach with their organization.
- Nightly run-through — Establishing a routine can help your child maintain organizational habits. One way to assist your child is to incorporate an organizational check-in into their daily routine. Before bed, have them read through their schedule for the next day, reorganize their backpack, and put out what additional supplies they will need, such as sports equipment. Not only does this help reduce stress that may interfere with a good night’s sleep, but it also reduces the risk of forgetting anything in the morning.
Be sure to adapt these tips and techniques to each individual child to maximize their efficiency, especially if they face challenges that interfere with their organizational skills, such as ADHD or anxiety disorders.
Beyond BookSmart can teach your child how to stay organized when summer is over
Every student has the ability to become the best version of themselves by improving their Executive Function skills, including organization, along with time management and emotional regulation. Executive Function skills are life management skills that help you plan, initiate, and achieve goals at home, in school, and in the workplace. All of these skills are coachable, trainable, and can be applied for success. They can contribute to an effective study routine that leads to greater academic and personal achievements.
At Beyond BookSmart, we help students improve these important, lifelong skills through our Executive Function coaching services. We also know that every child has unique strengths and challenges. That’s why we customize our coaching sessions for each student’s individual needs, learning differences, and emotional patterns.
Contact our team today for more information or to schedule an inquiry call.