Stay Organized

Although we may start the new school year off right, as the weeks slip by, the papers mount, and the extracurricular activities begin, our plans for staying on top of things often fly out the window.

Many parents start the school year with the resolution that this year they won't get buried under the avalanche of paperwork their child brings home. "Without active parental involvement children will be completely unable to manage the flow of information from school to home and back again," says Dr. Anne Rambo, author of the book, I Know My Child Can Do Better!, and Associate Professor of Family Therapy at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Because organized kids are generally better students, Dr. Rambo suggests developing a system and creating a pleasant ritual. "Sit down with your child and his backpack after school or daycare and sort through all the contents," she says. "Do this every day."

When your child gets home from school or you return home from work, Dr. Rambo also suggests fixing a snack, chatting about the day, and sorting through everyone's daily "stuff," organizing everything into the following piles: trash, supplies, books (check when those library books are due!), things to keep (graded papers and test results), long-term assignments (instructions for the book report due next month), and short-term assignments (homework due the next day, permission slips, and so on).

Also create designated folders. "Place completed homework, permissions slips, and everything else that should go back to school the next day in the 'return-to-school' folder," she says. The second folder (or box) stays at home and holds long-term projects, information about upcoming field trips, and so on. Dr. Rambo explains the importance of establishing this routine, saying, "If you institute these patterns when your child is seven, you will have a more organized seventeen year old than another parent who simply elects to spend the intervening decade yelling about irresponsibility."

Organization is all about the calendar, says Debby Waldman, a mother of two who lives in Edmonton, Canada. "I have one of those 16-month-calendars, so as soon as I get the schedule from the school in September, I write down everything—holidays, teacher in-service days, and early dismissal days. That way I do not have to mark things down at the last minute, and there aren't as many surprises," Waldman notes.