My Kid’s Backpack Is Already A Mess
As a couple weeks of school pass, you may find that your student’s backpack is already exploding with loose paper or they can’t find assignments and notes easily. At Octant Academics, we are all about systems. Creating a system to keep track of all school items makes school management much easier!
Paper-Free Mindset
Create a ‘paper-free backpack mindset!’ Every piece of paper has a home in a folder or a binder. Have your student incorporate these strategies:
Create a folder or binder for each class: Each class should have its own ‘home’ so that it is very clear where each item goes. If binders for each class take up too much space, utilize tabs or dividers.
For binders: Avoid using the sleeves inside the binder, often at the front or back (easy for papers to get lost or forgotten here) – keep this area clean! Hole punch papers and store in appropriate tabs/dividers. Some students find that these sleeves are too easy to store papers in and benefit from cutting them out because it removes the temptation.
Weekly reset: At the end of each week, your student should empty out their backpack to make sure no papers have made their way to the bottom and to start the new week accounting for every needed item.
Backpack checklist: Beyond keeping each item in its necessary place in binders and folders, make sure everything makes its way into the backpack each night. Our backpack checklist provides guidance on what to bring!
Action Item: Help your student create binders with tabs or dividers or folders for each class if they haven’t already!