OK, My child, 12 years, suffers with disorganization. The poor kid is PS and is failing (yes failing) subjects because he does his homework and doesn't turn it in. His binder (he isn't allowed a locker yet) is a mess. He forgets to write down homework assignments even though he has a planner. (And then forgets or decides not to do his homework.) We have given him the option to be homeschooled next year. (He is thinking about it.) I was told to teach him organization, study skills, self motivation, and make him track his work and "grades". Anyone have tips on how to do this?? I was thinking about printing a weekly goal sheet for him to keep up with. We have an "IN" box for papers that need to be looked over. (Though my kids now just hand it to me for review right way. But I have toddlers and sometimes can't review at that moment.) We have an office but my other kids prefer working at the dining room table right now. (They hated working in the office.) TIA,
I'm not sure how much this will help you, but we used to put ds's completed homework in a folder. Every day, he gave that folder to his teacher.
He has 5 different teacher and 6 different classes......... Everyone keeps telling me it is a common problem. but it is killing his grades.
I am not implying that he is ADHD, please understand this first. But there are many websites that have great ideas to help ADHD children be more organized, you might be able to pick up tips that would help. The only one that is coming to mind right now is having a different color folder for each class. HTH
He's not ADHD. He's clueless! (I have another phrase I use but it's not appropriate) His thought process is completely different then a "normal" person's. He has different colored LABELED folders for each class. I also put a bright pink "HOMEWORK" folder in the front of his binder. It has in huge letters HOMEWORK! Turn it in! I make sure he puts his work in that folder at night , but he still isn't turning it in. (I took him to school on Tuesday and walked him to one class and watched him turn in his homework. I'm not looking for ideas for this year. I was hoping someone had some ideas to teach him next year....................
Mom24boys is right. Even if he's not ADHD, many strategies used for them work just as well for disorganized children. www.headsupnow.com is a great place for ideas. I have some ideas for the here-and-now, but they will only work if teachers are willing to follow through. First, sit down with him and clean out his notebook. Get rid of all unwanted paper, etc. Second, force him to use his assignment book. Talk with his teachers. Tell him (and them!) that he is to write his assignments down in the book AND HAVE HIS TEACHER(S) INITIAL IT every day. If there is no assignment, he writes that down and has it initialed. Third, when he does his work it must go into the proper place in the notebook. Every night after he does his homework, you need to follow through to see that everything on his list is done and in its proper place. Lots of work, yes. And I'll tell you right now (from experience!) that the teachers will not come to him and ask to see his assignment book. That's not a complaint; they've got too many kids to deal with. And quite frankly, HE needs to take that initiative. But if he goes to them, they should be willing to initial it.
Let me repeat, I was saying he is ADHD or implying that he might be. Please understand that. It's just that a lot of ADHD children have a hard time with organization so there is a lot of help out there to teach them so I thought it might help to look into it. I will say, I thought my 13 ds was "clueless" and that "his thought process is completely different than a 'normal' person's, and I just relealized this year that there are many different forms of ADHD and I believe he has one of them. His thought process is completely different, but he is normal. I hope I didn't offend, I was just trying to help.
I'm not offended or anything. I had him tested. I did look through the websites suggested and will consider some of the options offered. Thanks! My ideas for next year include giving him a weekly lesson plan with what is expected for the week. Using an "in box" for any papers that need to be graded. (And not grade them unless they are in the right place.) and having him track his own grades. We have organized his binder after each quarter. I printed out several "homework sheets" and he has to show me them as soon as he gets home. (Not all his teacher were on board with signing something everyday.) I do make sure his does his work and it goes into the "HOMEWORK" folder. (So he only has to look in one folder for his work) but he is still struggling. I'm read Bright Minds, Poor Grades by Micheal Whitley but DH isn't on board with the program. (Mostly he doesn't have the time to read and he reverts back to his lecturing and yelling very easily.) I'm trying to do it by myself but the book claims mixed results when both parents aren't working together.
is this a new development? When I went from grade school to Jr High, it was a HUGE change for everyone. Instead of one teacher who stayed after you to get your assignments, there were 5 or 6 who really didn't care who turned what in; what I am trying to say is that alot changes in the 7-8th grade. Not only does class require more attention to detail, there's also all those pesky growing up things bothering kids and distracting them. You mey have to every single day stay on him for awhile. But keep in mind that just because he is clueless right now, it doesn't necessarily mean he will stay that way forever.
Remember it takes 30 days to make things a habit. And that is what you are trying to teach your boy. Habits! Organization is not a natural thing for me, but I have worked and it is becoming a habit. I would start with part of it, like marking the sheets, putting all his homework in one spot. Both of you focus on just one part of it until it becomes habit. Then pick the next area and make it a habit. I am sure that these issues are in home life not associated with school. Like him not following through with something you tell him to do, not following a chore chart etc. Just make that habit to focus on. I was like that but just now I am changing because I realized that I can change it if I pick one part at a time. Otherwise I feel like it is to big, or "its just my crazy mind".
My 13yo son had the same problem this year. It caused him immense amounts of anxiety, and more anxious he got the more disorganized he became. It got to the point where he was coming out in rashes he was so stressed and we had to see a psychologist. Here's what worked for us: I printed up "Homework Sheets". Each sheet has the days' classes - and ONLY that days' classes! - listed in order. There's LOTS of room to write in, and there's a check box for each teacher to initial. Eight different teachers, eight different classes (six per day, on a five day rotation). I contacted all the teachers individually and described the system, and they promised to help my son remember by asking him for the book at the end of class. Now what was supposed to happen was that my boy was to write down his homework himself and then each teacher would initial it to show that he'd written down all his homework correctly. What actually happened was that his teachers decided this was too much trouble, so they started writing his homework into his book for him. That's probably because my son has an LD that affects his handwriting, so it takes forever to write anything down. But the important thing is that all of his homework gets written down! And he gets that one or two minute bit of "face time" to check in with each teacher, which means he never gets too far off track. When my son gets home, I look at his homework book and put the next day's page on top. Then I have him write any future project due dates down on the kitchen calendar, and do his homework. I put a check mark beside each bit as it is done and I make sure it gets filed properly into his backpack. Anything that must be handed in goes onto a clipboard - separate from all his other books. I check the clipboard, and if something he should have handed in is still sitting there, I remind him to try again tomorrow. And then I remind him again as he's heading out the door in the morning. I haven't YET had to write it on his hand, but that's always option. He uses a single zippered binder with all his classes divided with tabs (he can't handle multiple binders). I go through his backpack once a week and tidy it up with him, throwing away old homework sheets. He only has - at most - five homework sheets in his homework book at a time and the one he needs to get signed that day is always on top. (It's a small detail, but it really increases the odds that he'll get his signatures, if he doesn't have to turn the page.) It seems like a lot to do, but it gotten easier over time as it becomes habit for both of us. MOST kids don't need this kind of hand holding (my daughter certainly doesn't!), but some do. I developed this plan in consultation with my son's psychologist, who has emphasized that I will need to do this for a couple years (at least) before gradually handing the reins over to my son. Organization is a learned skill, and it takes time. My son is not ADD, but as the psychologist pointed out, boys his age have a lot on their minds. It's hard for some of them to remember things and stay focussed. My son's gotten lost walking a block to the post box, because he was thinking of something else! It's all part and parcel of being a teenager. He'll get through this.
We use this too. But Mac found tab dividers and opening and closing the rings distracting. We switched to one folder per class. A clip board is a good idea. I'm not sure it would work with him though. He seems to "forget" multiple items. He has a "HOMEWORK" folder. (That has helped. They tell me puberty will help too.)
This is the first thought that I had.... workboxes! http://www.workboxsystem.com/benefits.html an example - http://www.thechatterbee.com/profiles/blogs/getting-organized-with I have a fabric cube for each child's workbooks and current reader. I have a bookshelf that has one shelf per child so they can keep their cube, supplies and things like artwork or notebooks. Then I have another shelf for reference books like dictionaries, atlases, thesauruses, Bible and so on. Keeping things as simple as possible and being consistent with routine and expectations is helpful for students to build good habits. I would pick a certain thing to work on until they get that down and then add the next habit. I also stagger the start date of each subject. We do Bible & math the first week, Bible, math & history the next week and add a subject each week until we're doing all of them. We also taper off the same way coming up to breaks.
