How to Encourage Organizational Skills in Your Kids
Clixo Building Prompts to Promote Creativity
We’re living in Marie Kondo’s world now, which means everyone is talking about organization. For kids, organization can be overwhelming. Sometimes, organization is overlooked as a skill that should be taught to kids, unfortunately.
For your kids to be organization masters, they’ll need to learn skills such as sorting, classification and prioritization. We’ve put together a list of tips to get your kids up to speed on organization. They’ll be pros in no time!
Benefits of Organizational Skills for Children
Before we get into it, let’s look at why it’s so important that kids learn organizational skills.
Ensuring your kids have substantial organizational skills is going to set them up for success in school and eventually in their careers. Learning how to stay organized is going to keep them from procrastinating or losing things they need for school or work. Organizational skills will also help your kids keep up with their classmates and stay on task.
Use Checklists and To do Lists
We love a good checklist! Getting your kids started early with checklists will help them form organizational habits that will stay with them into adulthood. Try having them create simple lists to start with such as “What to Bring to Grandma’s.” Checklists will help them stay organized and strategize when they have tasks to complete.
You can also form good organizational habits by having your kids create to do lists. These can be for homework, play dates, or chores. Get them their own notebooks to write the lists in so they feel like they’re in charge.
Get Them a Daily Planner
While most people keep track of everything in their phone these days, there’s something to be said about using a physical daily planner. Getting your kids a planner to write in will allow them to keep track of homework assignments, chores, and other tasks. You could create a reward system such as an allowance or something else that motivates them to use the planner and check it daily.
Assign Sorting and Organizing Chores
Not only will you get a little help around the house, but assigning chores that involve sorting and organizing will improve their skills. One of the biggest components to improving organizational skills is learning how to properly sort and categorize items.
The good news is that there’s plenty of this kind of work around the house! When assigning chores, give the little ones tasks such as:
- Sorting Socks
- Separating lights and darks
- Organizing cleaning supplies
- Cleaning out closets
- Categorizing items in storage
Doing so will help them learn to be organized and improve problem solving skills, as well.
Get Them a Calendar
While physical calendars may seem like a relic of the past, they can teach your little ones a lot about organization. Use a physical calendar to mark down their activities. You can also use a digital calendar to do this, as well. The important thing is that your kids learn how to write down their plans and it may also help them with time management.
Establish a Morning Routine
Routines are extremely important for learning organizational skills. You can use the calendar you’ve made to break it down even further from months to daily activities. Establishing a strong morning routine can set your kids up for success throughout the day, and the rest of their lives!
Morning routines should involve waking up at the same time everyday. This leaves little room for distraction and throwing off their groove. Breakfast should be at the same time, too. This will also help your kids keep consistent energy levels and going to bed at the same time each night.
Create a Designated Homework Space
Another great way to encourage organizational skills is to designate a homework space. Sure, letting the kids study wherever they want is great, but having one specific space is going to keep them organized and on task. This is especially helpful for kids who get distracted easily. The space should be in a room away from screens and other distractions so they can focus.
Set a Homework Schedule
Your kids should be doing homework at a fixed time everyday. This will again help them form good habits and keep them organized when it comes to their school work. They should be studying or doing homework at the same time everyday, which will help them to avoid procrastination.
Do Weekly Backpack Cleanouts
How many times have your kids come home and there’s an unexplainable mess in their backpack? Having them do a weekly clean out will encourage organization and make it a habit. When your kids practice regular backpack clean outs, it will encourage them to keep it neat and less likely to have homework assignments go missing.
Practice Sorting and Organization With Toys Like Clixo
Along with real life practice, using toys to help improve organizational skills will be helpful, too! Clixo is a great tool for improving sorting and classification. For example, when they’re building with Clixo, you can give them prompts to improve different skills.
For example, give your kids the task of making something with only red pieces. They will have to sort through their Clixo set to find all of the red ones. Or, choose a specific shape that they need to use. Doing this will help them perfect organizational skills as well as work on creativity and problem solving.
Final Thoughts
To sum it up, there’s plenty you can do to help your kids get organized. While they may not focus on it in school, helping them form good habits at home is going to set them up for success. Try out our tips and grab a set of Clixo magnetic building toys today!