How To Help Your Child Be An Organized Student

The start of the school year is the perfect time to help your child develop skills that will lead to a successful school year.  One of the most beneficial skills a child can learn is organization.  Not only will learning how to be organized help your child do better in school this year, it is a life long skill that will benefit them in adulthood.

So, what can you do to help your child learn to be organized?  One of the biggest things you can do as a parent is to help them set up an environment and routines that encourage organization.

Creating Routines That Work
Most children thrive in a structured environment.  Routines provide predictability and stability that help a child feel safe and in control of their environment.  Creating and following a before school and after school routine will empower your child to take responsibility for their school life and make the transition to and home from school much smoother.

A routine will have a much better chance of succeeding if you solicit your child's input and preferences so involve your child in decision making process of a establishing a routine. 

Ideas to consider for a before school routine include putting out clothes, making lunch and packing their backpack the night before and deciding in what order they get ready in the morning.  Having a routine will make everything run smoother, discourage last minute morning chaos over what to wear and help your student to remember homework. 

The same goes for the after school routine.  Ideas to consider including emptying their backpack each day when they get home and putting important notes and homework in a designated spot.  Encourage them to do their homework at the same time each night and place it in their backpack when done so it doesn't get forgotten.

After coming up with the routines, help your child stick to the new schedule for the first couple of weeks until it becomes routine. 

Creating Environments That Foster Organization
Having organized areas to do homework and store school items are another way to encourage your child to be organized.

Mudroom Organization

For example, when you child walks in the door, make sure the mudroom or area where they take off their jacket and backpack is set up to help them easily follow their routine.  Ideas to consider include installing child-height hooks, cubbies or open lockers to store jackets, backpacks, shoes, hats and gloves.  Nearby, install wall mounted file folders and label one folder for parent communication, one folder for homework and one folder for artwork.  This will make it easy for your child to empty their backpack and will mean no missed permission forms for you and no forgotten homework assignments for your child.


Kitchen Office Space

Your child should also have a designated area to do their homework.  Depending on your child and your family, this can be a small office area right off the kitchen or in a quieter location of your home.  Set up the desk area with all the supplies they will need to complete homework assignments and color coded folders to hold homework assignments not yet started, in process and completed.

Off To a Great Start
Establishing routines and creating areas to foster organization will help your child have a successful school year and more importantly, help them develop organizational skills that will continue to benefit them for years to come.  Good luck and have a great school year!

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Do you have a mudroom designed to make your child's after school routine a success or a designated homework space designed to encourage organization?  If not, contact Closets For Life for a free in-home consultation.  We will meet with you at your home to assess your space, brainstorm design ideas to best meets your needs and create free custom 3D design of your project for you to review before ordering and installing your project.

Closets For Life is a custom closet company that works with residential clients as well as designers, builders and architects to create innovative storage solutions for all organizational needs including mudrooms, closets, office spaces, garages, laundry rooms, pantries, wine cellars and Murphy beds. Closets For Life is a family owned and operated business. 

Contact Closets For Life by phone at 952-484-0416 or by email at rlyrek@closetsforlife.com. You can also visit our website at www.closetsforlife.com.