Organized for Success – How are YOUR Students Managing?

Organize the Student

An organized student is a more successful student. Give the students in your home every advantage by working with them in developing excellent organizational skills. Help your student(s) develop a plan to organize their time and their papers. Most students receive an agenda book. Hold your student(s) accountable to using it. Help them get into a good habit. It takes approximately 21 days of constant repetition to form a new habit. Offer them grace as you encourage them in forming this new habit. It will help them succeed as a student and they will learn valuable lessons of time management for the future. Teach them organizing skills as you work with them to set aside specific places in their binder, notebook, or folders for homework, current work and completed work. Many teachers will share their suggestions with you and your student. Take advantage of their teacher’s wisdom. Also, consider creating a file box at home to store completed work, filed by subject. When their binder begins to bulge, they will have an easy and convenient place to file their work away, while still having quick access to it for future needs.

Organize the Study Area

Next, prepare a study area and take stock of your school and office supplies.

Beadboard Basic Corner Desk from Pottery Barn Teen

Create an area in your home specifically for doing homework. This area should be well lit and quiet with a work area and a supportive chair. It is also helpful to have storage for basic study helps and school supplies.  This is the perfect time to inventory all your school and office supplies while reorganizing the area for ease of use. This is an easy process, which includes a few simple steps:

• Think through how you want your space to look and function
• Empty out any drawers, cabinets, bins or files that are storing office and/or school supplies
• Group like things together. Create sub categories such as Art Supplies, Paper Supplies, Pens and Pencils, Notebooks and Binders, Office Supplies, Computer Supplies etc……..
• Toss or donate any damaged or obsolete supplies
• Return the “keep” pile to the space and think through what, if any, storage accessories or containers you may need
• Store often used supplies close at hand, while utilizing harder to reach space for seldom used supplies

Organize a School Memory Box

The Bungalow File Holder from See Jane Work

If you haven’t done so already, consider creating a School Memory Box for each child. This can be as simple as a plastic file box or a cardboard banker’s box divided into 12 sections. During the school year file away any artwork, projects, special memories, creative writing and awards. Then, at the end of each school year, go through your file box of completed work and pull out the best and most meaningful of their creative writing, schoolwork and artwork. Finally,  simply file it away in their School Memory Box in the appropriate year. By the end of high school, you’ll have a wonderful, handpicked history of your child’s development and accomplishments, with very little effort.

Check out these stylish Bungalow File Holders from See Jane Work. They come in 5 different designs and hold standard hanging files. They are chic enough to set out on a bookshelf, desk top or kitchen shelf, adding flair to your home and organization to your life.

Organize the Room

This is also the perfect time to work with your child organizing his/her bedroom and clothing. Use the same basic steps outlined earlier:

• Think through how you want your space to look and function
• Empty out drawers, clothes and any bins that are storing clothing
• Group like things together. Create sub categories such as Underclothes, Sports Clothes, Uniforms, School Clothes, Dress Clothes etc.
• Toss old or worn clothes and donate outgrown, seldom worn, or out of style clothes. The biggest pitfall is keeping more clothes than you actually can use or have room for. Be realistic in what you are keeping.
• Return the “keep” pile to the space and think through what, if any, storage accessories or containers you may need. Assign a specific space for each sub category of clothing.
• Store often used clothing close at hand, while utilizing harder to reach space for seldom used items. Store off season clothes in a clearly labeled bin or under-the-bed container.
• Be careful not to over-stuff drawers and closets. You will go a long way in helping your child stay organized by actually providing a space for all of their belongings and then making it both easy and accessible to put them away.
• Make use of storage space, which is often overlooked, such as the backs of doors or inside of closets to mount hooks, racks, or pockets. Use hooks for storage of everyday items such as sweatshirts, pajamas, robes, and towels. If your child doesn’t have many hanging clothes, install shelves in half of their closet for additional folded clothes or for toy storage.

Now that you know what your child owns and what needs they may have, you may still be able to take advantage of summer clearance sales.

Have a Fantastic (and organized!) School Year!

Cheryl

Kids and Time Management

Taking the Nagging out of Parenting

Sound too good to be true?

Read on……….

I returned home from teaching the first session of an organizing workshop.  One section of the workshop was devoted to “Becoming the family Manager”.  Some of the specific skills we discussed included:

• Thinking through what needs to be done before forging through our day.

• Based on these needs, developing a plan of action.

• Writing that plan down and sticking to it.

• Using the “Kindergarten Model of Organization” and storing everything needed for a specific task at its point of use.

• And using a timer to help keep you on task.

Soon after returning home, I checked my emails and found a recommendation from a fellow organizer for a great new product, On Task On Time for Kids, by Timely Matters, Inc.  The timer is designed to help children develop these same time management skills.

On Task On Time for Kids is a unique time management system designed to be used by kids to help them organize routines in the morning (getting ready for school), in the afternoon (transitioning from school to home activities), and in the evening (getting ready for bed).

Daily routines are created by applying task stickers to a Routine Disk.  The Routinre Disk is then inserted into the On Task Timer Unit, and the child sees what tasks should be completed, what tasks should be done now, and what tasks are coming up next.

It is designed for children between the ages of five and twelve and is available with both girl and boy illustartions.  It is easy to read (even for pre-readers), fun to look at, and easy to carry.

“Let On Task On Time for Kids ease you and your family in and out of your day, reduce stress, and take the nagging out of parenting!”

Check it out.  Give it a try……….

Visit Timely Matters, Inc. at www.timelymatters.com for ordering information.

Hmm……Do you think we could come up with a version for the High School student!?

Blessings to you!

Cheryl

The Timer is Our Friend

I am a morning person. I wake up ready to move, with a racing mind and many good intentions. Generally, there is more on my mind than I could possibly accomplish and I have a tendency to try and accomplish way too many things at one time, moving from one project to another, not accomplishing any of them.

On my best days, I hit the floor running and I multitask beautifully. On a good day, I discipline myself to finish one thing before starting another. On a jumbled day, I start many projects at one time, both physically and mentally jumping from one task to another, and end up a bit frustrated and behind.

I always have a mental (and often a written) list of what needs to be accomplished within the hour or even the next few minutes. But as I begin work in one area, I am too often thinking about and moving on to other areas.

That is where the timer comes in.

If you find yourself “wandering” from one task or project to another and having difficulty completing any of them, try utilizing the timer. It is amazing what you can accomplish in a specific room or on a specific task when you are truly uninterrupted.

If I set the timer for just 10 minutes and determine to focus on one area (for example, the kitchen and only the kitchen) for those 10 minutes, I can truly whip that room into shape. Then I’ll turn the timer off and move on to more, shall we say, exciting or challenging tasks at hand.

You can also use the timer to help you complete larger jobs. Rather than being overwhelmed with the enormity of a job, try setting a timer for 30 minutes or an hour. Truly focus on the task at hand, and determine to stop when the timer goes off. Then repeat this process as many times as necessary to complete the task. I think you will be amazed at what you have accomplished in a short, uninterrupted period of time and you will find it will go much faster than you imagined.

Moms, you can also use the timer to help your small children complete a task. They too, may be overwhelmed by very simple jobs. A timer with a challenge to complete a task in 3-5 minutes can help change their focus, even making it seem fun, like a game.

Yes, I truly did have to discipline myself NOT to leave my partially clean kitchen, to wander into my office and begin this article.

Happy tasks!!        

       

  

The Inept Scrapbooker and 13 Years of Photos

The Inept Scrapbooker and 13 Years of Photos

I’m not an “official scrapbooker”, and yet I have been working on my children’s scrapbooks for the past 13 years. 

 

Two of our four children graduated from high school this past June – a bittersweet time. Sweet, as we look back over their accomplishments and individual growth through the years and see the fine young man and young woman they have become. And sweet, knowing we have done all that we could have to prepare them for this next stage of life……….life away from home. Bitter (actually not bitter, just a bit sad) as they are both heading out of state for college very soon………..In opposite directions of the country. Realistically, life and relationship with them will never be the same. Not bad, just different.Someone failed to inform me how crazy busy high school senior year is! The last few weeks of the school year included 3 proms, 2 graduations, college prep, 2 senior capstone service projects, end of the year banquets and celebrations and 4 kids completing sports seasons. In the midst of it all, I wanted to complete a memory book for each of our graduates, spanning the 13 years of their time in school. I also wanted to create a photo gallery frame with sweet memories of their high school years, to be on display at their graduation party, and to pass on as gifts for the graduates.

This task was a joy, not a burden, in large part because I had taken a few simple steps to collect and document their memories and accomplishments over the years.

Of all the organizing projects we might undertake, tackling photos can be the most overwhelming. But on the other hand, it can provide the biggest payoff in terms of joy, satisfaction and freedom. Our photos simplify this by providing memories without having to keep all the “stuff” associated with those memories.

Here is a simple tip to get started. Keep only the best ones! If you hold on to EVERY picture, the volume becomes overwhelming and you won’t be able to enjoy any of them. The idea is to pick the most special, organize those beautifully, and toss the rest. That way, you can actually access and enjoy your memories.

As each of my children began kindergarten I started a school age scrapbook for them. I intentionally purchased spiral bound scrapbooks, which limited the number of pages that I had to fill for each of their years of school. Basically, I had about 5 pages per year………….not so overwhelming for this inept scrapbooker! Then, as each school year began, I simply put a manila folder in the back of each of my children’s scrapbooks to gather pictures of that year.

I began this journey into the “scrapbooking world” before the time of digital photos and cameras. I actually had to bring my film to a store to be developed and pick them up a few days later!

Next, I sorted through all of the pictures, discarding all but the best, and saving the rest in an acid free photo box arranged chronologically. I then pulled out any exceptional photos for each child and slipped them into the envelope for that child’s book. At that time, I also decided if I needed to order additional copies of any photos for the family photo album.

By the end of each school year, I had gathered highlights of each child’s year, which generally included their first day of school, highlights of the year, special activities and sports, and summer fun. In addition, I had collected all of our family photos in a photo box, which were arranged chronologically, and eventually slipped them into sleeves for a simple family album.

I then spent a few hours arranging the photos and memories that I had collected for each child into their scrapbook. Despite my inaptitude as a “scrapbooker”, I enjoyed these hours. It was a time to reminisce and review each child’s year. I didn’t try to “tell a story” on each page, as a seasoned scrapbooker may. Instead, I simply mounted the best pictures that I had for that year, along with a few colorful die cuts, photo-safe stickers, cardstock, and a few captions or funny sayings.

As my children head off to college, this non-scrapbooker is thrilled to have a picture story to remember the past, as I look forward to their exciting years to come.

Times have changed, and over the years, so have my photo habits. Even this old girl has gone digital, ordering and storing pictures online. Many people now create their scrapbooks completely online. The entire process has been simplified, making it easier for us to be the keeper of the memories!

 

The Keeper of Memories

“There is no childhood home to return to for holidays or long weekends. My mother long ago packed my bedroom items into a box marked,”Amy” ,and brought it to me in Birmingham. Letters from old boyfriends, photos from school dances, moody poems I wrote at 13-I keep them safe. I am the caretaker of my own past.”

Excerpt taken from “Going Home Again” By Amy Bickers Mercer,

Southern Living Magazine, April 2008

Parents, you are the caretaker of your child’s past. How do you accomplish this without being overtaken and overwhelmed by mounds and mounds of memories, which when out of control, become clutter rather than keepsakes?

The answer really is simple: You save the BEST and the MOST special keepsakes, photos and memorabilia. If you save everything, it diminishes the value of those SPECIAL items. They will get lost in the shuffle, and you will be left with clutter, not keepsakes!

We tend to start out strong, with the first many pages of the baby book (for the 1st child, at least!) filled out completely. But then, life takes over and we might pile papers in the back of the book for a rainy day. The “rainy day” becomes the “rainy years”, and before we know it, our children are ready to launch out on their own, and if we are lucky, we have boxes of “memories”, which may or may not be clutter, to pass along to them.

So, how can we reign in the clutter and sort through the toys, books, clothes, artwork, school work, and photos? Will we, like Amy’s mother, be able to pass along a wonderful, handpicked history of our children’s development and memories?

First, think LONG TERM and SIMPLE.

Think through the “categories” or stages of your children’s lives. Possible categories might be Baby, Pre-School, School Age and High School.

Secondly, think through how YOU operate.

Next develop a “system” of saving memories for each “category” based on your own personality. Are you a detail oriented person who will actually fill in the blank spaces in the baby book? Lovely! Then simply set aside a few minutes each week or month, depending on your child’s age and rate of development, and do it! You know yourself and your life. If you are not someone who has time, energy or motivation to fill in those blank spaces in the baby book, then come up with a plan that will work for you. You can choose to use a calendar to record the milestones of your child’s development along with cute and funny sayings and incidents. You can hang the calendar in whatever room you spend a significant amount of time, so that it is often accessible and you can record your child’s milestones “on the run”, as they occur. An alternative is to simply set aside a photo box, clearly labeled with your child’s name and, using dividers that come with the photo box, simply slip in the memories you jot down, photos and memorabilia in chronological order. Look how simple it can be!

The same system can be used to record the preschool years.

As your child approaches school age, consider purchasing a file box with 12 dividers or a banker’s box with 12 large envelopes. Then as each year slips by, keep a plastic or cardboard crate accessible and toss in all your child’s potential treasures……….., all the sweet cards, pictures, awards and brilliant writings. At the end of each school year, sort through and save the best and most meaningful. Then transfer them to the appropriate file or envelope. By the end of high school you’ll have a wonderful, handpicked history of your child’s life and development (with very little effort).

To borrow a phrase from Nike, “Just do it”! You’ll be glad you did (and so will your child)!