Don't forget to tune in TODAY! Channel 7, Good Afternoon Arkansas, to hear About Space give tips on how to get your little ones to learn to organize!
How organized are your kids?
Organization can be hard at every age, but the earlier you can develop these habits, the better off your child will be later in life (and it's also a HUGE help to have an extra set of hands helping parents out at home too). An organized home and school life requires the whole family to pitch in, so here are some ways you can instill a sense of order in your little one.
Toddlers: It's never too early to start organizing!
1) TOYS: Start teaching your children to sort their toys in a general manner, the dinosaurs go in one bin, the magna-tiles go in another, laundry goes in the laundry basket. Focus on Macro-organizing, as no one at this age is sorting red legos from blue, but general categories are manageable.
- use photo labels/pictures of the items on bins (since children are usually not reading at this point).
- build in pick up time at the end of each play time.
2) Picture lists: Introduce short checklists and routines: before bed, we take a bath, get in our jam jams, and brush our teeth. Then reward your child by reading them a book or singing them a special song. Not only does this instill great habits, it gives your child ownership of part of his/her day.
Elementary School Age: Fine tune these skills
3) Establish household routines that kids can be an active part of. For example,
cook together: Cooking teaches planning, time management, measuring, and sorting. Follow up with doing the dishes together and making sure everything is put away. Not only is it great time spent with your kiddo, but it's a great learning experience to go through the process from beginning to end.
Peace, love, and organizing people!
Meg