Organizational Skills Learned in School Can Last a Lifetime

The women in my family (myself included) aren’t known for our organizational ability—far from it—but my niece Heather is about the most organized person I know. And the skills she learned, she learned in kindergarten. She’d come home with papers she’d done in school, all tucked neatly into color-coded folders; as she got older, her school books wore book covers, also color-coded to match notebooks and files. She carried her organizational skills through at home as well; she had a "My Pony" collection, kept neatly organized on shelves, and her clothes closet, once she was in charge of it, was also neat and well planned. And now that she’s a young adult with a responsible job and her own home, she approaches her work and home life with the same flair for order.

It’s actually pretty easy to teach organizational skills to children. Kids love color, so color-coding file folders, book covers, and other items will be fun for them. If your classroom has learning centers, all the better; you’re already teaching them the habit of sorting books, magazines, posters, materials, and supplies by topic.

As children get older, include them in discussions about how to organize the various areas of their classroom. Ask them for ideas, and point out that the ideas generated represent some very different approaches, all of them valid. Point out that organization isn’t supposed to be a chore, but a tool that actually makes their lives easier; creating a system of organization makes the classroom function more efficiently, which can result in more time to paint, draw, play with toys, or listen to a "read-aloud" story.

Don’t be afraid to teach your students organizational skills, and to insist that they develop a high level of skills. These habits could very well carry over into high school, college, and their adult lives, and could contribute greatly to their success.