Teaching Kids The Planner Habit

I should have seen it coming.

I knew that my sixth grader had forgotten his lesson planner at home for several days in a row. So when I opened the online grade summary for science and saw a 40% due to missing assignments, I shouldn’t have been the least bit surprised!

 

My “baby” has been home schooled until this year, when I had to return to work for financial reasons. The blessings that we have both enjoyed from home schooling have been tremendous, but the flip side is that the transition to traditional schooling has been, well, less than seamless…

If I could go back in time and was home schooling again, one thing I would do differently is have my kids keep their own planners. I of course had my teacher’s planner and let them work off of that, which taught them NOTHING about developing the habit of planning for themselves. Sigh.

A life long skill

So, back to “baby.” My number one priority in helping him rectify his science grade and–big picture view–learn planning and organizational skills that will help him throughout his whole life, is to learn to use his school lesson planner effectively and consistently.

Here are a few tips we have implemented: (I refer to him as a “he” because well, he is, but this works for girls, too!)

• At school, each class gets its own line in that day’s box. He must write down the assignment, or “no homework” if that’s the case.
• Write quickly, but be sure to write down every detail about the assignment. Trust me, he will NOT remember everything even just a few hours later!
• Use a binder clip to mark the current page. This saves constantly flipping through the planner to find the correct day.
• Keep the planner in the front pocket of his backpack. Keep a pen in the spiral binding, or in the front pocket of the backpack with the planner. Having it always handy, always in the same place increases the chances it will get used.
• At home, he must check his planner before beginning homework.
• For now, I am checking to make sure his homework is completed. I am hoping to pass the baton to him in this area in the name of FREEDOM! Soon.
• All completed homework goes into his binder or homework folder, and his planner goes back into his backpack—all ready for the next day!

A lesson learned the hard way

I should mention the importance of getting BUY-IN from your child from the get-go. All moms know that if your child doesn’t see the value of doing something, he won’t do it, at least not for very long! Help your child see the value of a planner, i.e. more time for fun, or maybe good grades = incentives in your household?

Now it’s your turn! We’d love to hear from you! What has or has not worked for all of our Mom Girlfriends out there in the child vs planner dilemma???