First, Declutter. Be sure there is a logical place for everything and that your children know where things go. Kids are great at putting things away, if they know what is expected. Encourage your child to keep his backpack and desk organized. When she gets home at the end of each day, have her empty out her backpack and put homework where it belongs. Along with notes that need to be signed, or fliers that need to be read. Then put trash, in the trash. Go over papers together. Designate areas for all those papers. So they don’t end up cluttering their backpacks and your counters. It is a lot easier to juggle the demands when you are organized. Clutter stresses our children out, just like it does us.
Second, teach your child to write things down. Using planners and calendars can really help your child remember what needs to be done. We have a family calendar that hangs in our kitchen. Our kids read that calendar every. single. time. they pass by. The opportunity to see what the family has going on helps them know what to expect, what needs to be done, and how to prepare for each new day. At the beginning of each week we all sit down and the kids get to put all their activities on the calendar. Not only does it make them feel important, and part of the family. But it really does help them stay organized and on top of what they need to do.
Next,use time wisely. This is a really hard one for our children to understand. They struggle to grasp the time concept. Teach children simple tips…
- it is important to get all ready to go, and then with the time left over, you can play.
- prepare your backpack and sports gear/instruments/etc, the night before. This will help your child think through preparations, understand the need to be prepared and plan ahead.
- practice time management when you have down time. Have children estimate how much time something might take, like eating breakfast. On a Saturday morning, have your child estimate how long it will take them to eat their breakfast. Then really time them to see how long it takes. Your child will probably take longer to eat than they think. Compare the two numbers and help your child understand that minutes add up.