Interested in setting the stage for academic achievement? Okay, let’s get going! There are five steps to getting and staying organized.

Study-skill training
Set up a daily assignment sheet. Whether your middle-schooler uses a day planner, PDA or just a sheet of notebook paper, it’s imperative that he write down, for all academic classes, all homework assigned that day or tests/quizzes announced. Preteens and teenagers are notorious for depending upon their memories, and aside from the sheer volume of work that may be assigned, they have lots of other stuff to remember (friends’ phone numbers, the latest gossip and the next soccer practice date). So, it’s important to mandate that all work is noted on the planner, for each class, every day. Many kids also have each teacher initial the planner at the end of each class — just to double-check that what they wrote down for homework and tests is accurate and complete.

1. Use a homework organizer folder.  Have the child put the daily assignment sheets in the right side pocket; all papers to be completed, filed or thrown away in the left side pocket; and all work to be turned in to the teacher in the center pocket — preferably in a clear file so that the child can easily determine if there are papers that still need to be turned in.

2. Review the assignment sheet at the locker. So far, so good? Great! Now, you have to convince your kid to use the planner while standing at the locker at the end of the school day.  Have your daughter pull out the assignment sheet and check it when deciding what books, notebooks and folders need to be brought home.

3. Complete homework and study for tests in a timely manner.  Some families find that it works best if the child has some downtime after school to shoot hoops, watch some TV or talk on the phone.  Other folks have greater success with the kids grabbing a quick snack and hitting the books right away. Whatever works best in your family — do it, it’s an individual decision.

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4. Check that all work has been completed. Once the child reports that all written work, reading and studying are completed, be sure to check against the planner what has been completed, and make sure that all assignments are done well.  You may want to give your child a quick quiz on certain subjects to be certain that she really understands the material studied. If an assignment is not due the next day, write it down on a monthly calendar that your kid keeps on the study desk, and be sure to review this with her daily.  Plan to study at least one day ahead for quizzes and at least two days in advance for major tests.  Try to get book reports and projects completed at least one day in advance — this allows for emergencies to be dealt with (the printer running out of ink, necessitating a quick trip to the office supply store). Your child will soon learn that planning ahead pays off in terms of a better product and less stress.

5. Organize the book bag for the next day. Needless to say, you don’t need the kid running around in the morning trying to locate paper, pencils and completed worksheets.  That should be accomplished the night before when there is plenty of time and no pressure to hurry up, eat breakfast and catch the bus for school.  Packing the night before is a good habit to develop not only in terms of school work, but also for preparing for baseball practice, ballet and computer class.

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