Elizabeth Lutsky, MA BCET and Lainie Donnell, MA ET/P
Co-Founders of LiLa Learning, LLC.
After a long, hot summer of lazy days that bleed into night, getting back into a routine at the start of the new school year can feel overwhelming for students and parents alike. Fortunately, we have some tips and strategies to help ease this inevitable, yet exciting, transition.
PICKING YOUR WORKSPACE: It all starts with a well-stocked, functional workspace. We highly recommend getting started before the school year begins.Since this is where your student will be spending a lot of time after school each day, it is important that they are involved in this process. After all, we want them to feel that this space belongs to them. Finding the right spot for their desk is the first step. A quiet, well-lit area such as a bedroom or den is the ideal space. Think about choosing a large desk or small table that will easily accommodate their books, computer, and planner, while still having enough workspace left over to work. If your student’s bedroom will not accommodate a desk or they need to be in a more central location near an adult who can help them stay on task, setting up a portable workspace is always a great option. A comfortable chair where your student will enjoy sitting is also essential. And while you’re at it, don’t forget drawers to file papers and store school supplies. More on school supplies later, but for now, just remember that whatever space they choose, the couch and the bed are absolutely off limits, and here’s why… Research suggests that studying in an environment similar to the one in which they will be asked to recall information optimizes retrieval. Research also indicates that to promote good sleep habits, it is vital to keep our bed as a place for relaxation. When we hop into bed, our brain knows it’s time to rest and unwind, while sitting at a desk sends a signal to our brain that it is time to get focused and stay alert. Besides all of that, who likes sleeping in a bed filled with eraser shavings anyway?
DECLUTTERING: After choosing your workspace, it is time to declutter. Start by getting rid
of last year’s papers and notebooks. Before dumping everything right into the trash or recycling bin, spend some time pulling out any old work or helpful notes that you would like to keep in a file for future reference. After we have thrown out what we don’t need to keep, let’s eliminate unnecessary or potentially distracting items like that unused jewelry-making kit, your dried-out, half-used make-up, or broken fidget toys. It is best if your workspace does not double as an arts-and-crafts nook, make-up table, or gaming station.
STOCKING UP: Next, it’s time to stock up. In an effort to avoid wasting energy and valuable
time searching for a pair of scissors or a stapler while studying, it can be helpful for your student to have all of the essential supplies within arm’s reach. Every time your student has to get up on a grand pursuit for the colored pencil, note cards, a stapler, or a hole puncher in the middle of trying to get their work done, they risk being derailed from the task at hand. Here is a complete list of supplies to consider when stocking their workspace. If your student has chosen to work in the kitchen or dining room, it is important to use a portable caddy. Poppin and Like-It are two of our favorite options.
MAINTAINING YOUR WORKSPACE: In order to maintain an effective and efficient
workspace, a weekly cleanout should be scheduled and added to the calendar as a recurring
event. Sunday afternoon is often a great time for this activity so that your student is set and
ready for the week ahead. Work together to ensure that all of their supplies are fully stocked and back in their designated spot. Even though it may seem easier, in the moment, to clean up for them, try to guide without judgment or exasperation and let them lead the way. This is a great opportunity for students to flex those executive function muscles and build these important habits.
MANAGING MATERIALS: Once your student’s workspace is complete and ready to go, it’s
time to focus on ways to stay organized throughout the year. Students have a tremendous amount of teacher-provided handouts to juggle and are consistently surprised by how full their infamous two-pocket folder is by the end of September. Even though we live in a digital age, don’t let your students convince you their schoolwork is solely online. Students will inevitably accumulate various notes, worksheets, tests, quizzes, and teacher-provided slide decks that need to be accessible throughout the year! We also strongly encourage students to print out relevant digital materials, including chapters from online textbooks and typed lecture notes for easy reading, annotating, and reference. All of this work should be neatly stored in a single binder such as the LiLa Work™, a pre-assembled, customizable, structured system used to help students track and manage their schoolwork. All work remains organized in clearly labeled sections, providing a designated space for all work, ensuring that students have everything they need when they need it.
MANAGING TIME: This is the final, and arguably the most essential, element to consider
when preparing for the new school year; one that plays a key role in a student’s overall academic success. In addition to the busy school day and all of their homework, students are often managing multiple extracurricular activities, doctor’s appointments, and family gatherings. Teaching our children how to manage their time can start at home. Implementing chores and responsibilities for your children to do around the house can provide an opportunity to practice the essential skills of follow-through, accountability, and time management. Basic tasks such as making their bed each morning, loading and unloading the dishwasher, sorting dirty laundry, or tidying up their room all require executive function. Additionally, establishing a morning and evening routine is a great way to engage your student in practicing time management. Discuss when to wake up so that they can complete their morning routine and still arrive at school ontime. Plan when to start getting ready for bed by teaching them to work backward from lights out. To help further reinforce the development of time management skills in the new school year, we recommend a paper academic planner to scaffold and support effective time management. After being consistently disappointed by the plethora of academic planners on the market, LiLa Plan™ was created. Our academic planner serves as a wonderful complement to a school’s online platform by providing a space to transform the student’s online “to-do list” into an executable paper plan. Research shows that paper-based reading and writing remain the most effective and engaging methods for interacting with language and promoting the transfer of information into long-term memory. Furthermore, in her most recent book, Reader Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World, Maryanne Wolf explains, “From a cognitive neuroscience perspective, the beneficial cortical connections between language and motor networks are something Chinese scribes and teachers have known for centuries” (pp. 173-4). Based on this and years of clinical experience, LiLa Plan™ was developed to provide a clearly scaffolded template to support student success throughout the school year.
A FINAL NOTE: We know that this is easier said than done because we are parents, too.
However, as with so much of parenting, when we put in the time and effort each day to support the development of any important skill, we end up seeing the payoff in the long run. Following these valuable tips and tools is a great place to start on the journey to build valuable habits for school…and ultimately, LIFE! And after making these strategies part of your family’s daily routine, don’t be surprised when one day your child tells YOU that it’s time to go get organized!