Summer is my favorite season but let's be honest, aren't most of us relived to have our kids return to school and get back into a routine?  

   

If only the start of school didn't mean more paperwork!  

   

Now is a good time to set up systems that will help you and your kids successfully navigate the school year.

 

My Daughter's First Day of Kindergarten

 

Our daughter flew through her childhood and is now a high school senior.  We have learned a few organizing tricks along the way that have made the school year less stressful and more organized.  

 

5 tips for a Simply Organized School Year

 

1. Empty backpacks every day.   

 

Backpacks tend to be the burial ground for important notes and leftover lunches.  Teach your kids to empty their backpacks and eliminate morning drama. We have all heard our kids exclaim, "I need to bring the snack today" or "I'm supposed to turn in the permission slip today" or even "I can't find my homework" as we are getting them into the minivan or bus.  It's not a good way to start your day, to say the least.    

 

Have your kids put all their papers in one file or basket in your kitchen or entry.  Now those important notes won't be misplaced.

 

Before the end of the day, read the notes, sign papers that need to be signed, write checks that need to be written, enter important dates on your calendar and pack it all back into the backpacks.    

  

2. Once your child starts middle school, get them into the habit of using an assignment notebook.  

 

It's too hard to remember it all without recording it somewhere.  Some kids will need lots of encouragement to use it.   It took several years for my daughter to consistently use hers.  Once she started seeing the benefits of writing down her assignments, she never went back.

 

3. Purchase durable poly folders, in colors that coordinate with a notebook, for each subject.    

 

The folders will provide a safe and secure home for their worksheets and other notes instead of buried at the bottom of the backpack. Poly folders cost more but will probably last several years.  We duct taped our share of inexpensive paper folders before we discovered poly folders.

 

When I asked my daughter for her best school tip she said "don't shove everything in your backpack, no matter how tempting."  Words from someone who has given into this temptation a few times:)

  

4. Purchase duplicate school supplies, and a container to hold them, for use at home.   

 

Your kids can get right down to the business of doing their homework and not waste time looking for a ruler, markers, glue, tape, calculator, scissors, ect.  

 

5. Set up a desk top file box for each middle and high school age child.

 

Kids this age tend to accumulate scads of worksheets that need to be kept as study guides for future tests.  Give their backs a break.  A file box with labeled hanging file folders for each subject will provide them with a spot to unload their worksheets while keeping them safe and easy to locate in the file box.

 

Bonus Tip:  If you would like more tips, I highly recommend the book, "The Organized Student" by Donna Goldberg. 

 

 

Which tip do you think will help your family the most? I wish you all an enjoyable and successful school year.   If you live in the Madison, WI area check out my FREE class: Organize for a Successful, Not Stressful School Year.