Different approaches can help your child improve their organisation abilities.
Encourage your child to try some of these things, depending on their age, needs and home situation:
- Use visual reminders cards with words, symbols, pictures or photographs on, for routines to follow or equipment needed. An example could be a checklist on the front door with days of the week and equipment needed for each day.
- Develop routines. Have set times for doing tasks, for example, always place the school bag in the same place or empty it as soon as your child gets home.
- Use organiser boxes, one for each day of the week, where workbooks and homework are put once finished, ready for the next time they are needed.
- Use feet shapes on the floor to show where shoes/boots are kept.
- Ask classmates for help, for example, in checking that homework assignments have been noted, to remind your child about books or equipment needed.
- Divide longer projects into shorter steps, which can be listed, a timescale set and ticked off when done.
- Learn time management methods, for example, set a time to finish a job, learn to prioritise and not get distracted or jump from one job to another.
- Set reminders on the computer or phone, using post-its, messages on pin boards or dry wipe boards, notes in diaries or personal organisers or alarms on watches.
- Use a plastic wallet where anything can be stored that needs to be dealt with, so it's all in one place.
- Keep all current class work in one ring-binder to cut the need to remember several different books. Check first with your child's teachers, to see whether this fits with their systems.
- Use highlighter pens to make important things stand out and use paper clips and staples to keep things together.
- Colour-code equipment, books and other items with coloured stickers, and have a timetable showing the colour needed for a particular time, day or event.
- Develop a homework timetable showing what time the homework will be done, how long it will take and when it needs to be submitted.
- Talk through homework before starting it, to check your child understands what needs to be done. Find a quite place to do the homework, free from distractions.
Benefits
Explain the benefits of being organised to your child, including:
- more free time to do what they want to do
- being able to relax and not worry about where things are and what still needs doing
- achieving more, having better standards of work and future job options when they are grown-up
- others not moaning or nagging at them.