Organisational skills

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RedVelvet
Posts: 546
Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2011 2:06 pm

Organisational skills

Post by RedVelvet »

Hello, I'm in need of some help here.

By son is in Yr7 and has always struggled with organisation. We're having a real problem with homework, two detentions this week and this is not unusual. Having attended parents' evening recently I know the school are aware of this but I need some strategies to help him.

Providing he writes the homework in his diary it does get done. However he often forgets to write his homework down and sometimes he doesn't hand it in, despite the teachers asking the boys to leave their books at the end of the lessons!

I need to find a way to help him develop these skills. I honestly think he's trying his best. I'll speak to his form tutor but would be grateful for any tips or tricks from other parents. If he was struggling with academic work, I know there would be interventions available to help him, but what help is there for the chronically disorganised?
Guest55
Posts: 16254
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Re: Organisational skills

Post by Guest55 »

When does the teacher set homework? If it's always just as the bell goes then it's not surprising it doesn't get recorded!

Some strategies:

* Get teachers to set homework at the start or part-way through the lesson.

* Ask teachers to count the books before the children leave the classroom. It's the only way to counter the claim of the child that says they have handed their book in ...

Both these work better for the school too :)
Reading Mum
Posts: 1841
Joined: Tue Oct 04, 2011 9:44 am
Location: Reading

Re: Organisational skills

Post by Reading Mum »

We started using an app with our DD. She likes tech so it appealed. It is called Wunderlist.
It does rely on her writing the homework in her diary when in school as no phone use there but when she gets home she adds all homework (with due date) to the list. She then gets the pleasure of the ping when she marks something as complete - will only appeal to list makers but we all are!
The list is presented in date order so she knows what to tackle first.
We can see her list.
It used to prompt her for daily music practice as well but that got annoying if she missed a session so we dropped that idea.
It doesn't help with handing in - maybe he just needs the help of a more organised friend in class to prompt him to hand it in.
Moon unit
Posts: 654
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2014 9:14 am

Re: Organisational skills

Post by Moon unit »

My dds school have just started using an app called show my homework. Hopefully it is easy for teachers as it is brilliant for my dd. Just log on and it's all there and they can delete what they've done as they go along. Works like a dream for us
PurpleDuck
Posts: 1586
Joined: Sat Jul 24, 2010 10:45 pm

Re: Organisational skills

Post by PurpleDuck »

RedVelvet, have you asked your DS why it is that he forgets to write down the homework in his diary? Is it because it's set at the end of the lesson and he is in a rush to get out of the classroom? Is there anything that would help him remember to write it down?

Do you have his homework schedule, i.e. do you know what homework he is supposed to be given on each day of the week? If you do, you could ask him every morning whether he remembered what homework he would be getting that day and hopefully he will start remembering soon... Also, maybe it would help if he set himself a reminder on his phone to prompt him after the last lesson to check whether all homework was written down in his diary? This way, if he forgot to write it down, he would still have a chance to catch his friends and ask them what homework was set.

When my DS was in y7, I initially checked his diary every single day to see what homework he had and when it was due. It took a few months of me checking and reminding before he started being organised. With time, he has learnt to write it all down and do all his homework on the day it was set, regardless of when it was due. I think it can just take a little bit of time to fully adjust from the little homework they have in primary school to having to remember multiple homeworks in secondary school.
It felt like I hit rock bottom; suddenly, there was knocking from beneath... (anon.)
Tolstoy
Posts: 2755
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 5:25 pm

Re: Organisational skills

Post by Tolstoy »

Moon unit wrote:My dds school have just started using an app called show my homework. Hopefully it is easy for teachers as it is brilliant for my dd. Just log on and it's all there and they can delete what they've done as they go along. Works like a dream for us
Dcs school uses this and it is excellent.
kenyancowgirl
Posts: 6738
Joined: Mon Oct 21, 2013 8:59 pm

Re: Organisational skills

Post by kenyancowgirl »

We have this too - only problem is that the odd teacher forgets to put things on on the right homework day! The system allows them to add homework when they remember - one member of staff set homework on New Year's Day....it can cause problems as both DS's check it when they come in on the bus, and go off and do whatever is set - occasionally they will look later on, to check what they have to hand in the next day, about 9pm and realise that a teacher has set something after about 7 or 8pm - not really fair!
Tolstoy
Posts: 2755
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 5:25 pm

Re: Organisational skills

Post by Tolstoy »

Surely in those situations the DC can't be penalised. With younger DC Y7/8 poss 9 and certainly in our house after 7 is dinner and wind down time. DC aren't no longer allowed on laptops after that.
Guest55
Posts: 16254
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Re: Organisational skills

Post by Guest55 »

Quite a few Secondary schools have a policy of not expecting homework set to be in the next day. This is to allow students to get involved in out of school activities in the evening - for example, a club cricket match.
kenyancowgirl
Posts: 6738
Joined: Mon Oct 21, 2013 8:59 pm

Re: Organisational skills

Post by kenyancowgirl »

The homework is rarely to be handed in the next day (my boys use the system as a reminder of what has to be handed in as they are packing their bags each night) - however, when you do a lot of after school stuff, trying to stick to the homework timetable and doing the work on the day it is set, is not a bad routine to get into - it means that there is less carry over each weekend and hopefully avoids having hours and hours to do each night - BUT it does rely on staff to uphold their end of the bargain and put the homework on in a timely fashion. Since they have introduced the system, we have said to the boys, if it is not on SMH, it doesn't exist...ie, if they forget to do something that has not been listed then I do not expect them to get a detention for it!
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