It has been
that time of the year since the 4th of July Back-to-School ads. Most students in the area will be heading back within the next month. Whether or not your child had a
successful year last year, both of you will want to look at how you would like
to organize and be prepared for the upcoming school year. Let’s take a look at
the possible organizational styles your child might have:
§ Over-achiever
organization. If your child is more organized than you are, you may want to
take notes from him or her! These kids are generally successful already and may
not need much help because they already have a system down pat. These kids talk about their schoolwork, what is going on, and are open to discussion.
However, if there was one particular class that was troubling or more
difficult, you may want to explore different options.
§ So-so
organizer. You start off the school year with a bang and then… well… what
happened? I would say that the majority of students fall in this area. They
begin the school year with good intentions and then they hit a few speed bumps as the year
progresses. They start losing their homework and important papers, forget test
dates, and find themselves in a pit of despair about school. For these kids,
they need more guidance than the over-achiever organizer. My suggestion is to
check in with them every day and help them keep up with their
binders.
§ Clutter/Chaos
organizer. Many of the kids that fall into this category are usually being
treated for ADHD or some other form of neurological disorder. However,
apathetic kids fall into this category as well. Parents who are permissive or
non-existent (never see their child for more than an hour or two a day), may
have passed on traits that center around a disorganized domain. However,
parents can turn this style around with a lot of work. If your child has a
learning disorder, then you will have to guide them more intensely everyday! That means going
through the book bag and asking a lot of questions. As they reach later
adolescence, they made need less and less guidance if you have helped them
build a strong foundation in organization.
Here are some general tips for any style organizer for the
upcoming school year.
§ Add bright
colors. From binders to dividers to lined paper. Color-code by subject. It’s
tougher to get down about school when you have bright colors to look at! Even
helps those of us who are visually-impaired.
§ Use graph paper
and colored pencils for science and math notes. Handwriting has gone the way of
the dinosaurs in most school systems, leading to terrible penmanship and
illegible notes. Graph paper helps make the notes more readable and colored
pencils help highlight key points for review.
§ Make yourself available
to your child every day. I know. It’s tough to do. But you made an unspoken
commitment to your child the day they were born.
§ Make sure that
a study zone is in place in your house. It should be well-lit with easy access
to supplies. Supplies should include: three-hole punch, stapler w/staples,
paper clips, binder clips, extra pens/pencils/colored pencils, glue, scissors,
and extra paper.
§ Set studying
for the same time everyday. If you and your child are having problems and do
not have a tutor, don’t wait. Set up an appointment right away. It is much,
much more difficult to help students with problems halfway through the semester
than at the beginning. Most tutors can work in multiple subject areas if your
child has multiple problems to work on.
These are a few of my favorite things:
§
Reinforced College-Ruled Filler
Paper they also have Reinforced Graph Paper
§
Weekly Planner/Journal: your child
may get this from his/her school on their first day
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