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Tips to Help Your Child Get Organized · 5–Minute Parenting: Tips to Help You Raise Competent, Godly Kids.

• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to another episode of 5-Minute Parenting.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: For the month of August, I'm going to be focusing on tips for parents to help their kids get ready to go back to school.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: Today my topic is going to be five tips for helping your child get organized.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: This topic was one of the top episodes of last year, so I'm going to revisit it with tips to help your child get organized.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: One of the biggest issues I've heard as a former teacher was my child is so disorganized.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: How can I help him or her?
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: When I was teaching, I worked with LD students at an elementary and junior high level.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: I'm also the mom of a daughter who was diagnosed with ADHD in second grade.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: I can tell you from experience that organizational skills are so important in helping your child succeed in school and in life.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: The following organizational tips can be adapted for students in a traditional school setting, a private setting, and children who are being homeschooled.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: So my first tip is have a designated space.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: There needs to be a designated space in your home where your children can work on their schoolwork or homework.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: If you homeschool, you may be fortunate enough to already have a room or a designated area.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: Creating this designated area helps kids know when they enter that space it's time to focus on schoolwork or homework.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: Your children may have their own desk where they work, or it might be a central area such as the kitchen table.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: For kids that have attention issues, a separate space is always best, but you can create a foldable cardboard divider for a table, creating a private work area for each child.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: And if your child is easily distracted, some earphones may help.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: The second tip is have a designated storage space.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: Having an area to store all things related to school is important.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: This can be as simple as each child having a book bag.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: Or perhaps you can have a storage bin for each child where they keep all their school-related items.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: As a teacher, I heard many excuses for why children did not have their homework, including the classic one, The Dog Ate My Homework.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: But there were many other imaginative excuses also.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: One way to help younger children or ADHD children keep track of their completed homework or schoolwork is to give them colored folders where they can organize their work by subject.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: They can even draw pictures or put stickers on them as a visual cue as to which subject is inside.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: I remember when we homeschooled our daughter for a year.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: Her reason for wanting to go to public school in junior high was so that she could have a locker.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: That may seem silly to us, but find out what is important to your child.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: Perhaps they want to choose their own book bag or a special colored storage bin or even a small portable locker if you have room.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: Having them help choose how to organize their supplies and schoolwork will help motivate them to stay organized.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: The third tip is have a family organizational calendar.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: Keeping a central family bulletin board or a calendar is very helpful to help keep track of all school family related activities.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: The more family members, the more crucial this becomes.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: Writing down everyone's upcoming activities, commitments, projects, and needed supplies will help everyone get an overview of the week or month and prevent last minute stress.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: As children get older, give them their own planner or calendar and encourage them to fill in their upcoming activities, plan out their schedule for completing a project, etc.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: Teaching your children the importance of planning ahead is a step towards helping them develop independence.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: The fourth tip: establish a routine.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: Establishing a regular homework or schoolwork schedule helps establish consistency and routine.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: Helping your child develop strategies to adhere to their schedule and complete task is important.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: A younger child will need your help to break down their task into smaller incremental steps with some rewards as they complete each step.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: Small rewards such as stickers, a play break, or a game break, a favorite snack, etc., will help them keep focused and finish their task.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: Older children can participate in setting their own schedule with rewards they choose.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: If your child helps in planning their schedule, they are more likely to buy into it and have a greater chance at keeping it.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: Teaching your child how to set goals and complete them will benefit them in college and in their future job.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: Number five, your role in helping your child develop organizational skills will be related to their ages.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: Younger children will need more help than older children.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: But the earlier you start helping your child develop organizational skills, the easier it will become.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: The same is true with homework.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: Be careful about getting roped into doing homework for them.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: Allowing them to fail is not a bad thing.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: It teaches them to be resilient and try again.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: Give encouragement and praise when they do succeed.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: As they develop these skills, they will also develop more self confidence and independence.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: And above all, pray for your children, not only for their day to day needs, but for their future, that they will become all that God created them to be.