Does it seem that your child often gets distracted when you ask them to complete a seemingly simple task? You may tell your son or daughter to “brush your teeth” when they wake up in the morning, but they may find themselves wandering over to the toys in the corner of the room on the way to the bathroom. It is natural for children to do this sometimes, however some struggle with distraction or disorganization more than others. No matter how hard they try, they cannot seem to focus on a specific task for more than five minutes. Without learning the proper tools to maintain attention, such excess behavior can lead to a lack of motivation and self-esteem, especially in school.
It is important to instill structure and routine behavior early on in a child’s academic career. Helping them establish proper organization, time management, and study skills will not only help them succeed in school, but with their future careers and projects.
Here are six tips that could improve your student’s organization:
1. Set short term goals to encourage organization.
For a child who already struggles with completing tasks in a timely manner, you may need to re-think your expectations when it comes to giving them a “to do” list. If you give them too much to do at once, they may feel overwhelmed and unwilling to try. Try breaking down bigger tasks into smaller ones, and suggest a time frame to complete these tasks. For example, if your student is given fifty math equations to solve for homework, a Timer for ten minutes, have him work his hardest, and then allow a break before another ten minutes of work.
By using this method, your student is able to see that they are making progress in a short amount of time. This will give them the motivation and will power to move forward and tackle the rest of their homework. Always remember to focus on these small accomplishments and give praise for their effort.
2. Provide routine and structure, then back away.
When taking multiple subjects in school, students may find it rather difficult to organize all of their material. Often they gather massive amounts of old worksheets and tests at the bottom of their backpack, unwilling to throw anything away that may be “important”. Donna Goldberg, author of “The Organized Student”, says using the acronym PACK: Purge, Accessorize, Categorize, and Keep It Up! can help reduce clutter in a student’s backpack.
Start by asking your student, “Where should we start?” when it comes to helping purge what they don’t need. That way, they can decide on their own what they feel is important to keep or throw. Accessorize by providing cases or pouches that can hold pencils and other writing utensils, and categorize by creating compartments and folders for each subject. Keep it up by ensuring your student is maintaining this system.
Eventually, this will become a habit for your student to be successful, and they won’t need many reminders or much monitoring anymore. Continue to provide positive reinforcement to keep them on the right track for success.
3. Find the right motivation
Instead of writing a daily or weekly schedule for your child, suggest he or she write it on their own. This will empower and motivate them to choose what time they complete their homework and other school-related tasks, as well as how to spend their free time.
For example, guide your student to create a color-coding system, where red slots can be for schoolwork, blue for after school activities, and green for chores and miscellaneous. Make sure to keep an hour or two of white slots available each day to be used as “free time”. This is something your student can look forward to once all of their other obligations have been met.
4.Make sure to adapt to his environment, and not the other way around.
As a parent, it is difficult to understand why your child can’t sit still for five minutes and just focus on their schoolwork, or why they have the need to fidget and move around so much. Instead of getting frustrated or constantly yelling at them to sit still, it is better to accommodate, or sometimes even accept these habits.
If your child needs stimulation and finds homework to be “boring”, they could benefit from something like a ball chair, where they can move around and be active while they work. Create a space for them where they are away from distractions and can focus on their assignments, but remember to give them frequent breaks. Five minutes of running around and playing outside in between homework assignments can help calm them down and increase their concentration once they come back inside. Keep trying different strategies to see what works best for your student.
5. Get an Educational Coach.
Sometimes, students are unwilling to listen to their parents when it comes to homework and school; they’ve heard it all before and often resist their guidance because they see it as “nagging”. At this point, it may be beneficial for you to seek an Educational Coach.
Educational Coaching is a program that focuses on improving students’ executive functioning skills, including organization, study skills, and time management. The tutor works with the student to figure out what sort of system works best for them, and implements tools such as binders and agendas to improve their organizational skills. They show the student different techniques for breaking down large assignments into smaller chunks, and prioritizing them to ensure they are completed in a timely manner. The tutor is able to monitor the student’s homework for quality and assists with note and test-taking strategies.
By receiving one-on-one tutoring services by an Educational Coach, your child is guaranteed to have the support and dedication they need for improving their organizational skills.