Helping older kids stay organized?

DandelionMom

My 10 year old needs to work on neatness/organization.  She has the tools -her planner, a nice binder (that she just shoves and crumples her papers into), an organized work area at home.  But she's had a couple of late assignments -- not because they weren't done on time but because she couldn't find them in the mess that is her binder/backpack/desk/locker. 

I help her organize her binder but I'd like to find a way to get her to do it on her own.  Suggestions?

samp42

I would love to hear answers for this.  My son is 9yrs old, is in 4th grade and has the same issue.  This is the first year he has had to have a binder and keep it organized with dividers and what not and also has to keep all assingments for each trimester before throwing away.  He has missed turning in assignments as well this year.  I tell him to keep all his papers he needs to turn in in one certain folder and then all his other papers he needs to keep in another folder.  He is still having issues though.  His teacher sends home a note on Fridays noting any missing assigments and if they have any she will let them complete them and turn them in for half credit. 

Mrs.LisaP

My daugher has a two sided pocket folder. One pockets says "keep at home" and the other pocket says "return to school". So anything that needs to go back- goes in that pocket. She's pretty consistant with it!

2ndchair

Get your kid into the habit of sorting through her stuff each evening or afternoon (whenever homework is done).  You might have to model a few times, let her help, then let her begin to take over.  Help her develop a type of self-check system. 

**Also, there are skinny hole-punchers that go into notebooks.  Sometimes my stuff will get unorganized simply because it needs holes punched in it and I haven't done it yet. 

neverblushed

I tutored kids for organization for 6 years until I returned teaching this school year.  My daughter, also 10, is also a disorganized mess!

I have found that kids this age need a LOT of support (i.e., parents actually have to help them organize and sort papers.)  Also, systems that work for organized people (3 ring binders, locker organizers, toiletries kits) don't work well for disorganized people.  Disorganized people, especially kids, need REALLY easy systems.

Ack -- my bell just rang, and I'm giving a test this class period.  I'll post more later!

DandelionMom

2ndchair:

Get your kid into the habit of sorting through her stuff each evening or afternoon (whenever homework is done).  You might have to model a few times, let her help, then let her begin to take over.  Help her develop a type of self-check system. 

**Also, there are skinny hole-punchers that go into notebooks.  Sometimes my stuff will get unorganized simply because it needs holes punched in it and I haven't done it yet. 

That's pretty much what we've been doing but she seems completely unable to take over for herself.  She's a great student but this one seems to be her stumbling block.

neverblushed

Ditto the daily paper-sorting ritual.  I try to keep the adage "a place for everything and everything in its place" in mind when I help my DD.  She gets in real difficulty if there are things that don't have a dedicated place. 

Also, people with organization issues do not always perceive time in the same way that "normal" people do.  My DD is a perfect example of this.  She's ALWAYS rushing.  She just doesn't recognize that it takes 5 seconds to put a paper in a folder, not 5 minutes.  You can put the math papers in the folder in your binder and still make it back to your homeroom teacher in plenty of time.  Helping her be more aware of the true passage of time really helps her feel more relaxed and thus more able to handle organizational tasks as they arise during the day. 

hammerb44

I teach middle school and many kids benefit from a take home folder, like another person suggested.  One side says "take home" another side says "bring to school".  With some kids this folder tends to become the "catch all" so if should be looked at every night at home. 

Other kids benefit from an accordian-type folder with several tabs for several subjects.  Again, this should be brought home and looked at every night.

Good Luck!

Squishy819

As a 5th grade teacher, I can assure you that this is an issue for many (if not most) 10 year old).  Each one of my students has a 2 pocket home to school folder.  All homework, notices, etc. go in here.  We label them LEFT at home (notices, etc.) and bring RIGHT back.  Many of the kids still need help organizing their things on a daily basis. Some kids do well with color coding.  Small checklists taped into the folder, binder, or desk can be helpful too.  If you laminate them, your daughter can use a dry erase marker to cross things off as she does them, so she will be able to see the results.  For example, when she sits to do homework the list might say; 1.  Take out folder  2. Check for LEFT at home items  3.  Check planner for homework  4.Complete homework   5.  Put homework back in folder  6.  Put folder back in backpack.

These steps sound very small and basic, but when they are broken down into easy sounding tasks, they are more likely to get done!  Good luck!

DandelionMom

I'm glad to hear other 10 y/os need a bit of handholding on this issue!