It is vital for a student’s academic success
to find what they need when they need it.

     I offer a class called NAPO In The Schools, a service project through the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO.net) geared towards helping 3rd-5th graders get and stay organized.   Establishing organization skills early helps in school and in life.  I spend 50 minutes with the student groups helping them to positively answer:  “Can you find what you need when you need it?”

     Here are 10 suggestions to help your student ‘find what they need when they need it’ at school.

Time Management:

1.  Take a minute every day to tidy up your desk or locker and get rid of trash.  Maintenance is worth the time investment. 

2.  Break big tasks into little manageable pieces:  For example, if you are working on a book report, reading a chapter a day is good for your final grade and personal satisfaction, instead of skimming in a hurry the night before a report is due.

Stuff Management:

3.  When it is time to move, either from class to class, or when you are heading home for the day, think ahead to your next activity, and grab all the stuff you need, so you don’t have to come back for anything.

4.  Make it easy to find your stuff.  Color code your notebooks and folders, or at least CLEARLY LABEL each notebook, so you don’t grab the wrong one.

5.  When it is time to go home, go through a check list in your head. Use a memory trick, like thinking about you from head to toe to remember all your snow gear, or thinking about your class schedule to remember your homework assignments

6.  Consider the people around you, and keep your stuff from overlapping into other people’s space.

7.  Keep similar things together.  Like all your soccer equipment in one bag, specifically for that sport.

8.  Store stuff where you need it.  Like the stuff that is to go home in your locker or backpack instead of in your desk.

9.  Designate a spot for the really important stuff and make sure those important things always make it back to that spot.  Always put your house keys or cell phone in the same inside pocket of your back pack, so you can find them when you need them.

10. Keep the stuff you use all the time close at hand.  Like pens and pencils and other small items at the front of your desk, so you can see them and grab them quickly.

So, print these up and present them to your student.  Sit down and discuss with them which suggestions you both feel they have already mastered, and then pick one more to try this week.  Help your student establish organizing habits for success in school and in life!