My 15 year old child is very disorganized. In all accelerated classes and very bright but grades suffer from forgetting homework, managing all the online requirements that are now part of school and so on. No problems with the coursework itself . Does anyone have experience with any apps that can be used as an organizer for school?
@Center the best solution is probably to go low-tech and get a planner or notebook to keep track of assignments and other commitments.
There are lots of good calendar and task list apps out there, and perhaps he/she can try one out. I usually just jotted a quick reminder in my notebook.
Your kid has to want to use the app, and even then it may or may not help much. Have you had him tested for learning disabilities? My D2 was similar, and has a learning disability. It took a lot more than an app for her to gain a decent level of organizational skills, but she is reasonably successful at a top college now. But… maybe an app is all he needs. Just some food for thought.
I have always thought that there was some sort of problem. School counseler says just disorganized. It’s not by choice though.
I have ADHD, and as a result my disorganization can become an enormous problem if left unchecked. So, I meet with my guidance counselor each week to make sure everything is in order. It may sound a little juvenile, but I think it helps a lot. Maybe your kid could do something with their’s?
Thanks . At first blush it seems like overkill but it might be a good idea to implement to establish routine
I have a relative who recently went to a learning center for similar issues. No learning disability but he does now go regularly for help with organization.
I can’t recommend any apps but I can share what I do to keep organized.
During the school day I write down notes about my assignments in my planner, the more he writes down, the better. Be sure to make a point to check the previous day to see if there’s any long term assignments to think about.
After school, I take a separate piece of paper and write down all my classes and re-write what I need to do, but I write it so that it’s very spaced out and much neater and easier to read. My personal system is to label the class periods with words (for example, “first period”) and write the assignments below it. When I’ve finished all the assignments for a class, I write the number next to it (so I would write a big “1”). That way, I check that I’ve done everything by just going through the numbers and making sure I’ve written one for every class— for me, this is easier than just using check marks. If there’s a class that I didn’t finish and isn’t due the next day, I put an “X” with the number, which helps me gauge how well I’m doing with completing tasks.
(I’m not sure if this explanation makes any sense, if you’d like I could send you a picture showing what I mean).
Another thing that I do is keep a list of things I need to bring or do for school on my phone and run through it every morning.
I hope some of that helped!
This is exactly what my dual-enrolled DS had to do. My husband had all these visions of Outlook, and pop-up reminders, but they don’t work with DS (who is very techie). My son is the kind of kid who doesn’t always know what day of the week it is - very spacey and dreamy sometimes, even though he is very smart.
He ended up keeping a paper calendar - the kind with a week on two pages, and a binder clip to fold back each week that has passed. Same exact thing I did in college. So far it has worked the best. There is something about writing assignments, and being able to see them by the week, that helps him.
thanks–i appreciate all the feedback and suggestions