Your child has been in school for several weeks and the cycle is starting again: homework battles, lack of time management skills, papers everywhere and no end in sight. Many families experience children who can be messy and disorganized and sometimes it’s a simple matter of finding the right organizational system.
For others, difficulty with planning, sequencing, and initiating tasks, often coupled with impulsivity and a low tolerance for frustration, is a sign of Executive Dysfunction. Difficulty organizing their things and their time can be key indicators—as though the secretary in the front of our brain, the one who helps us organize and keep track of our lives, has fallen asleep.
Break Tasks Down into Smaller Steps
At The Cottage School, we have learned that students need their responsibilities broken down into smaller steps. They need tasks spelled out so that they can link sequences of events or tasks and understand how they are related.
Identify a System to Try
Make a list of several “big picture goals”. Put yourself in the role of coach to help your child identify what needs to be achieved, and what steps need to be taken to get there. Instead of telling her what to do, I knew my daughter needed to feel empowered to achieve her goals on her own. We developed a system with a dry erase board and a list, where we both write on it, and she helps decide the routine and order. She even picked out a pink dry erase board and special markers for it. Six years later, this system still works for us.
Make It Fun
Don’t forget to add goals that are motivating and fun to the list. Her fun activities, like phone or pool time, should be on there too. By including them on the list, she learns to check off ‘chore’ items first to get to the fun stuff.
Remember, every family and every child is different, so try new systems to find what works for your child.
By Laura Finnell, M.Ed, High School Principal, The Cottage School
The Cottage School
700 Grimes Bridge Road
Roswell GA 30075
770.641.8688
www.cottageschool.org
