School Tips

I know that everyone isn’t in school, but I did want to put somethings out here for anyone who wants some simple organizers (and tips) to help make things easier towards graduation of high school or the start of college and through college.

Starting Young

There is great ideas about what to start doing with your kids once they start school. Maybe something similar to birthday questions from Best Activities for Kids or these yearly 20 questions from Paper Nook are things you can do to watch your kids grow. One of my favorite things to see parents doing is creating yearly file boxes similar to the ones from Destination of Domestication or if you are interested in a file box that goes year by year, specifically for school pictures, projects, and paperwork, then the School Paperwork Storage from iHeart Organizing will help prevent parents from throwing stuff, every year, into a container like my mom did. The file folder method is more custom and organized. You can even add those yearly questions to the file box! Did I mention that every child gets their own box? (A really great suggestion for the file box would be these very nice waterproof file boxes from Sterilite). 

Oh, and  a quick suggestion-every year give your son or daughter’s teachers blank cards to write something about your son or daughter and how they were as a student each year (maybe with a favorite memory), so when their senior year comes around they will have little memories of the last 13 years that they may or may-not remember! Make it a secret project to surprise them later with! I have also seen parents giving teachers the Dr. Seuss book, Oh the Places You Will go instead of cards.

Don’t forget about the thank yous!  Have your son or daughter give out thank yous to each teacher every year – it does mean something to them!

The Last Year

Senior year is stressful. No matter what Senior you ask there is a pressure that is looming above them and they can’t do anything about it – that pressure is the idea of a structureless future and making everything just right. This is a stress that no one can stop from happening (we can’t go to Neverland-we must grow up). What you can do as a parent or as a student is prep early. It might feel as though you have enough time and that you won’t be rushed-the clock is ticking! So, start early. High schools usually let students know about scholarship opportunities, but if they don’t then talk to a school advisor (or counselor) and see what they can do for you. Start looking for scholarships early-as early as Junior year- at least try one or two.

Sophomore and Junior year students should be visiting their advisor/counselor. Students should be looking into their future and High school advisors/counselors are available to support and give out ideas and suggestions.

Starting College and Getting Through It 

College is the start of a bumpy journey that starts with independence. To make it less stressful here are some great ideas that can help organize the start of college to get you in great habits for the future. Start with printing out your course schedule for the semester. Put this information into this Semester Planner from The Organized Student (she has other printables available for free and they are very helpful). If you think the Semester Planner is helpful, maybe try to make a schedule that will be consistent week after week (try the Class Schedule printable from Just a Girl and Her Blog). Once you know when you have class you should be ready for class – books! Take a trip to the campus bookstore. Once you collect all the books you are going to need for the semester, fill out the Textbook Form from Bloglovin’ and staple the receipt(s) onto the back. Of course these are just little organized documents, but it’s a start! Try keeping thing you will need access to frequently (Semester Planner and Class Schedule) closer than things that you won’t need as much (Textbook form). Those are the physically oranganizable things. That about everything else? Things from college courses will come from the computer. I recommend printing things out rather than reading online. Reading on a computer screen might lead to distractions or hurting your eyes. If you prefer reading online, marking up the text can be hard. Try using this Google Chrome extension-Clearly (sorry, this is is an extension is available only through the Google Chrome browser and will no longer be connected to Evernote by the end of January). If you want to print something out, you might want to try using Print Friendly to remove extra things that you don’t need to read. You can put these papers in binders such as these from Target (they are good quality and are inexpensive).

Taking notes can be done the traditional way with paper and pen or you can try Microsoft OneNote (which I will be trying out this semester). You can also use Google Drive and make a folder with many documents.

Just a quick tip on highlighting- highlight what is emphasized in readings, notes, readings, and lectures.

Tests, exams, and quizzes all test your ability to understand the information. If you have the time to take these tests, exams, and quizzes then take the time you need to take them.

The most important tip anyone can ever give you is to ask for help when you need it. If you don’t understand, ask. The one think to keep in mind-always ask. Ask another student or contact the instructor during class, during their office hours, or through email. It’s simple- always ask.

It can get overwhelming trying to pick what to do, but you just might need to try things to see what works for you. Function is very important and making things function universally to everyone is impossible, so just try and find something that works for you!

In the future maybe I can update you on other school tips-if you’re interested!

Good Luck and Happy Organizing!