How to Organize Kids for School and After School Activities: Tips for Parents

Preparation makes after-school activities enjoyable and relaxing.

A young child has a different concept of time, and competing activities can easily distract him from getting ready for school or after-school activities. He may easily forget your previous suggestions, and the morning calmness ends in a rush to get to school on time. After school, many children like to relax, and getting ready for after-school activities is a daily exercise in communication and patience. One of the secrets of success in life is organized routines, which help you to manage your time and which teach your child important life skills.

Things You'll Need

• Folder
• Calendar
• Notebook
• Stickers

Instructions

Getting Ready for School

1. Prepare your child before the start of a new term. Look at the bedtime routines and make sure that she is getting enough sleep. Put her to bed a little bit earlier each day for a week or two before the start of a new term. This will help to ensure that she is rested, which promotes smoother morning routines. A rested child listens more attentively and is prepared to get herself ready for school.

2. Organize things the evening before, and let the child be involved in the preparations. Pack lunches and lay out the clothes that he is going to wear. Tell him to pack his homework into the backpack before going to bed. Check the contents of the bag together. Make a checklist so that you can see what things need to be in the bag each day. Use a folder, and put all the notes from school in it so that it is easy to check when projects and permission slips need to be handed in.

3. Set the breakfast table the evening before. Ask the child to help to lay the table and decide what she is going to eat.

4. Set your alarm 30 minutes earlier. This will give you time to prepare everything and to ensure that you are ready to support your child.

5. Establish a routine, and prompt your child to remember the steps. Talk about the importance of doing things in the morning in a certain way so that you are ready on time. The routine of getting ready should be fun and engaging, and making up a rhyme about it is an engaging way to help her remember the steps.

6. Check that he has carried out the things on the list. Helping your child to be successful is a long-term investment. Gradually, let your child take more responsibility, and let it be his responsibility to remember things.

7. Use a calm and relaxed attitude to help her enjoy getting ready. Reward your child by giving her extra attention, and if time allows, play a game, talk, or sing a song together.

Getting Ready for After-School Activities

1. Check notes the evening before, and sign permission slips. Keep a calendar visible to everyone on the refrigerator or in the family workroom. Update the calendar daily together.

2. Talk about the next day's activity, and prepare your child the evening before. Ask her to describe what she did last time. This helps trigger her memory for messages that may have been forgotten.

3. Prepare the appropriate bag for the activity the evening before. Let older children pack their own bag, but check that everything is packed. Make an after-school activity book in which you write about the activity, and give her stickers when she has packed her bag.

4. Organize equipment for after-school activities in boxes. This help you quickly to find the material, and you can encourage your child to put, for example, the music score in the music box, and goggles in the box with swimming gear.

5. Teach older children to prepare their own snack, such as making a sandwich or cutting up fruit. Stock up on store-bought snacks in case you are running late.

6. Let your child listen to some quiet music and relax before the after-school activity. A quiet moment helps him regain his strength and motivation to get ready for the activity.

References

• Raising Children.; School mornings; 2011