Notes from the Resource Room
“Help! I have a disorganized child.” If you have said this a few times too
many about your child, you are not alone! Elementary school is the time for
students to learn organizational skills so they will be prepared to manage
the demanding, fast pace of middle and high school. Organization does not
come naturally-it must be taught. Whether your child is in first grade or
fifth grade, this is the right time to reinforce these important skills.
Here are some ways to get started:
• Improve time management skills. Encourage your child to create a
homework schedule when he/she gets home in the afternoon. It’s fine to
include breaks and free time. Write down the schedule and have the child
monitor how well it worked. Did some subjects take longer than planned?
Did
some require less time? Was too much work left for late in the evening?
How
should the schedule be changed to be more effective?
• Keep a separate calendar in your child’s room. Have him/her record
special activities and, most importantly, long-term projects and test
dates.
Use the calendar to spread out big assignments. (For example, have children
write how many pages they need to read each day in order to have the whole
book finished in time to write a book report by the due date.)
• Keep materials organized. Take a good look at your child’s room to
see if it is “organization-friendly.” Are there areas specifically
designated for books, clothes and school materials? Every child needs a
space that is set aside for homework and school materials. Are there too
many
items cluttering up the room? Some parents rotate books and toys in order
to
avoid overwhelming children. Include your child in deciding what can be
stored in another place.
• Set a specific day each week when you child cleans out his/her
backpack and organizes all notebooks and files. Keep a trashcan nearby, as
well as file boxes for projects they want to keep.
PARENTS MUST BE ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS in organizing their children's school
work. PARENTS may need to go through the backpack EVERY DAY. You need to
model for your child how keep papers organized. When YOU take the flyers and
notes out of your child's backpack regularly, you are showing them how to be
organized. When YOU help them put their homework in the correct folder, you
are showing them how to be organized.
If your child is always misplacing things, can't remember where papers and
books are, etc., you still need to support them until they become more
independent.
Mrs. Lurye, Resource Teacher
