Tag: back-to-school

Getting Organized for the School Year Ahead

Posted on by Jordank

Schools across the country are reopening their doors this month, and no matter where you live, it will be back-to-school time in a matter of weeks. Parents know that organization is often the key to effectiveness at school, at home and in the career world, and there’s no better time to encourage your kids to develop good organizational skills.

Young children are bound to be a bit scattered, but you can inspire them to stay organized by making it fun to put things in their proper places. Populate your home with interactive chore boards, chalkboard bins, colorful clocks and other accessories to help kids manage time and clutter, Parents.com says. Designated reading nooks and homework “organizers” can also make learning more fun.

Middle school may be a bigger challenge. “Middle school often comes as a shock to the system, and it’s the wise parent who is prepared and ready to guide their kid through the transition from the relative stability and security of grade school to the somewhat chaotic environment found in many of our middle schools,” Ruth A. Peters, Ph.D. wrote on the Today blog.

A daily assignment sheet will help provide a framework for keeping track of academic activities, she says; the middle-schooler should record homework assignments and test dates in a day planner or notebook in every class. Establish set study times to encourage good habits, and load backpacks the night before to prevent morning headaches.

Maintaining order in the home helps, says GreatSchools; bins, folders and filing cabinets aren’t just for adult offices. Use a bulletin board and sticky notes to furnish reminders of the most pressing projects, and install a shelf, bin or cabinet dedicated to each kid’s school day near the front door for grab-and-go convenience.

By the time children get to high school, they’ll even have more books, sports equipment, musical instruments and junk to keep track of — and if they can’t yet manage their stuff and schedules themselves, the Spruce says, it’s time for them to start. Day planners, binders, weekly meetings, whiteboards and clear expectations are a few of the tools you can use to help your child conquer the chaos.

As you get ready for the school year, don’t forget to check out the local thrift store. Many are supplied by donations to ClothingDonations.org, and can help you save money on clothing and supplies while helping fund veterans’ programs. And if you happen to be cleaning out the things your kids haven’t worn or used lately as you send them back to school, schedule a pickup or find a dropoff location for your used goods.

With a little planning and organization, you and your kids can reduce the stress of the back-to-school season. And that, hopefully, will help them succeed in school!

Declutter Before Back to School

Posted on by Jordank

Most young people will return to school in just a few weeks. In many regions, school starts as early as mid-August, and that means there’s no time like the present to not only shop for the new clothes, textbooks and gadgets they’ll need for the upcoming school year, but also make room for those items by cleaning out some of the old stuff they won’t.

If your kids are still young, that’s great — you can help them form a foundation of habits that they can use throughout life. “Four-year-olds aren’t super-great declutterers, but they can certainly look through a pile of their drawings and pick out their favorites, or try out a pile of markers to figure out which ones are dried up,” says the Frugal Girl blog.

Help young children sort things into categories, and make “keep” and “get rid of” piles within each. Resist the urge to conduct the decision-making yourself; like everyone else, kids get attached to their stuff, and may be hurt if you make a call without their input. Instead, gently urge them to save only their favorites in each category (clothing, books, toys, etc.).

When they complete each segment of the task, box up the lightly-used stuff and contact ClothingDonations.org for a pickup. To keep things orderly, invest in some plastic bins to keep like items together, and reinforce the advantages of decluttering by pointing out how neat, clean and spacious their shelves and rooms become.

If your kids are already in their teenage years, the battle may be more difficult, says The Non-Consumer Advocate. Again, you should involve them in the decluttering process; it is not OK to arbitrarily clean and toss. Do, however, set concrete limits on how many of a particular item can be kept: X number of T-shirts or X number of games.

If you’re sending a child to college for the first time, you have a golden opportunity to declutter your home. You might have plans to repurpose his or her room, and even if you don’t, there’s likely a ton of stuff they won’t need during the transition into adulthood that you can store, sell, donate or throw away before they go.

As they pack for school, again: Create piles of items to keep, donate and trash. Almost any item of clothing your child doesn’t want to take to college is fair game for a donation, as are toys and games they’ve outgrown. Take this opportunity to have your child create his or her own bin of special memories, says the SpareFoot Blog, and store it in a safe place.

When your child moves out of the house for good, they can take that bin with them — and you can reclaim the space!

Helping Children Learn Organizational Skills

Posted on by Jordank

A sign posted on the entry door to a private school for boys is creating a stir on social media. It states that parents bringing lunches and homework forgotten by their kids should turn around. The school wants the youngsters to learn about self-reliance instead.

As the school suggests, perhaps parents aren’t doing their children any favors by bailing them out, so to speak. It may be best to help youngsters learn how to stay organized, so you can say goodbye to manic mornings and forgotten homework and lunches.

If you want to help children learn to take responsibility, you can start in the kitchen. Even a 3-year-old can clear a plate from the table and set it on the counter. Next steps for little ones could include putting their dirty clothes in a hamper or laundry basket. How about putting apples or containers of yogurt in the refrigerator after their parents go grocery shopping? Older children can easily help do the dishes or load an empty a dishwasher. They can also learn to keep the mess to a minimum in their bedrooms.

Family experts are full of organizational ideas, like these:

  • Create checklists for getting out the door on time each morning.
  • Train your children to select an outfit the night before school. Some experts recommend setting aside time on Sunday evenings to select an outfit for the entire week.
  • Buy your child a kid-friendly and easy-to-use alarm clock.
  • Make sure your child knows where his or her shoes are by putting them away in the same place each day.
  • Let your children know they are responsible for packing their backpack each morning.
  • Keep jackets, shoes, school sports equipment and backpacks in the same location, if possible.
  • For days when you’re running late, keep an emergency pack in the car. It can be filled with hair clips and brushes, a few dollars for school lunches if there was no time to pack them and gum as a last resort if there was no time to brush teeth.
  • Put a reminder on your exit door about lunches, homework, keys, permission slips or whatever your children may need during the day.
  • Set aside specific time for homework. Some parents give their children 30 minutes of free time after school, followed by homework time before dinner.
  • Teach your children to make a simple breakfast, and store those breakfast items in spots they can easily reach.
  • Assign a specific job to each child. For example, one child can feed your pet; another could walk the dog. Or, one child could make toast for the family, while another pours juice.

Simple chores can become routines that help youngsters enjoy staying well organized. And, you’ll be teaching them lessons and habits that will last a lifetime.

How are you helping your kids learn important organizational habits?