An organized student is a successful student.

“The bus is here!” Mom yelled.

Jack flew down the hall, grabbed his backpack off the living room couch and dashed through the front door.

After singing the national anthem and saying the pledge of allegiance, the teacher asked them to follow the morning routine.

When everyone was seated, the teacher called the students, one by one, to bring her their homework.

“Jack Bellot! Homework please.”

Jack picked up his folder from his desk, opened it, then gasped. His homework sheets were missing. He began to dig frantically in his backpack. Nothing.

“Jack Bellot! Homework please.”

“Uh, I think I did it…I know I did it…but I can’t find it,” he lamented.

Studies show that there is a direct correlation between the disorganization found inside students’ desks, backpacks, pencil pouches, binders, and lockers, and their academic success.

What is organization?

This is the thinking skill children use to develop and maintain a system that keeps materials and plans orderly. It helps them create structure and order which in turn, boosts their output and helps them to prioritize the tasks that must be done to complete an activity.

Why is Organization important for learning?

This ability to apply order is important for play, work, and storage spaces, so when you teach your child organization while young, you set him up for success now and in the future.

Organization skills are essential to your child’s ability to interpret and retain information, thus leading to higher grades in school.

Here are some way the organized child benefits:

• Your child will have an improved educational experience.
  • He will be able to keep track of his assignments, notes, and exams, giving him a sense of control and confidence
• As children grow, they develop independence.
• The organized child develops better critical thinking skills.
• Over time, as you train your child to be organized he gets lots of practice following your directions, which gives his brain the practice it needs to become better at understanding how to interpret and follow directions.
• As you teach your child to follow your directions and solve problems in the process of being organized, his brain connections grow, preparing him to excel in language and literacy, and he will spend less time completing assignments.

Not only will the organized child experience greater academic success, but his self-esteem and confidence will increase, causing him to believe that he can do whatever he can succeed.

How can you tell if your child has trouble with organization?

If he struggles with organization, he may:

• Be generally disorganized – room, closet, drawers, backpack, desk, etc.
• Struggle to get ready on time
• Forget to take books or lunchbox to school
• Fail to accurately record homework
• Forget to bring home his book and other materials to complete his homework
• Push his assignments and handouts directly into his backpack instead of a folder or binder
• Lose his homework and assignments
• Forget to turn in completed assignments
• Produce disorganized written work
• Have difficulty with games at recess (elementary student)

How can you help your child develop organization skills?

As you tackle the task of teaching your child organization, move at the speed of his age. A 5-year old will understand routine – at home and school, but not a detailed system of notebooks and binders.

Here are 7 strategies you can use help improve your child’s organization:

1. Start with sorting
   • Teach your child to have a place for everything and to keep everything in its place. (personal items, toys, homework, handouts, etc.)
   • Categorize, label, and sort things.
   • Clean out clutter every week (from backpacks, notebooks, etc.)
2. Use daily checklists
   • Teach your child how to prioritize the items on the checklist.
   • Make them simple. Too many items on the list may cause your child to feel daunted and put things off.
3. Use school planners
   • Write in the deadlines for assignments
   • Create spaces where your child can organize handwritten notes, create project timelines, etc.
4. Use visual methods (stickers, color-coded labels, etc.)
   • This helps your child to easily identify what needs to be done.
5. Break down large tasks into smaller ones
   • This makes it less daunting and easier to manage.
6. Give him chores that involve sorting or categorizing
   • Things like sorting and putting away socks and shoes, cleaning out a closet, and other chores that involve pre-planning, making lists, or arranging things.
7. Designate a specific study space and time
   • This will reinforce good scheduling and time-management skills.

Above all, model organization for your child. Teach by doing. Talk about your plans for the day or verbalize the steps that need to be completed for a task, like preparing lunch. Use calendars, sticky notes, and other visual reminders for yourself.

Executive functioning skills are thinking skills and many of them can be improved using similar strategies.

A few children appear to be naturally organized, however, most children, especially those who are struggle academically, need to be explicitly taught how to be organized. Over time, they can develop an effective and efficient way of getting things done.

What is your favorite tip or strategy for organization?