Teaching Your Child Time Management
Although it may not seem like it, children these days have a lot on their plate — school, homework, and extracurricular activities, to name a few. Without knowing how to juggle all of these responsibilities, a child can easily become overwhelmed. These tips from top Polk County private schools can help you teach your child important time management skills that will benefit her for the rest of her life.
Estimating Time
As an essential time management skill, estimating the time it takes to complete a task or activity might be a good place to start. You can show your child how to do this by setting a timer when she has a task to complete. This way, you can show your child how long it took her to do her homework, clean up her toys, or eat her snack. This exercise isn’t designed to rush your child; it simply helps her understand how long things take.
Planning Ahead
As your child gets older, she may have assignments in school that she can’t (or at least shouldn’t) complete in a single day. It’s important to prepare your child for these challenges by teaching her how to plan ahead for completing longer projects. You can do this by helping your child break down the assignment into smaller steps. For example, first have her choose a topic for her science project, then go to the library or search online to find books for research, and so on. Talk to your child about how long each step of the project might take, and help her plan to work a little bit on the project every day.
Make It Fun!
No matter what age she is, your child will learn time management skills easier if you can make it fun for her. So, let your child color in a day planner with crayons to represent the different activities that occupy those times. Use stickers to mark important dates on his calendar. Make the morning routine a game by challenging your children to see who can get ready to go to school the fastest. The more enjoyable you can make these educational experiences, the more your children will remember them and internalize the lessons of time management.
Good time management habits won’t just make your life easier when it’s time to get your children out the door in the morning — these essential skills will help your children succeed through their school years and beyond. At Polk County private schools, we foster an atmosphere of care and an environment of high expectations and effective discipline. To learn more about what makes us different, contact the Office of Catholic Schools at the Diocese of Orlando by dialing 407-246-4800.