OH!: Homework Help for Elementary-Aged Students With ADD

“Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence.” Abigail Adams

I’ve shared that quote with dozens of young Chronically Disorganized (CD) clients. I often ask them to substitute the word organizing for the word learning and read the quote out loud. Children can then see that while organization – like education – may be attainable it doesn’t come effortlessly. Students who are naturally disorganized are at a disadvantage unless we, as professional organizers, can help them by implementing systems, support, and structure. Training students how to get organized and teaching them why being organized is critical to their success is essential. Uncovering the appropriate training techniques is often an overlooked step to becoming properly organized. Most often what I see when working with junior clients (between 3^rd and 6^th grades) is that their parents or teachers have implemented a seemingly flawless organizing system for the student. Unfortunately, it isn’t the right system for that particular child. Sometimes it’s too detailed. Or, maybe it doesn’t take into account the student’s learning style.

Enter the professional organizer
We have an opportunity to provide an organizing education for families seeking help. These clients are most often kinesthetic learners and auditory learners. So, we’ll focus here on these two modalities and the techniques that I have found to be especially helpful when working with these young clients and their parents.

First things first—Location, Location, Location!
Establish a quiet place in the home where the student can be close enough to ask questions yet far away enough not to be too distracted by family members (including pets) moving around the house. Younger children need adults nearby to answer questions and help them “perform” their homework.

Bite-Sized Portions
When it comes to repetitive work (such as math problems), set the student up for success. Just as we focus on a smaller area for an ADD adult, we want to focus on a smaller portion of the homework assignment rather than the whole. For example, if a student has a page of 15 math problems to solve, it is best to have him complete five at a time. Then, an adult can check them in three separate batches to ensure that the student is understanding the directions and receives immediate feedback before moving on to the next set of five problems. Nothing is more discouraging than letting a 4^th grader do 15 problems and then discovering that he did not get one correct answer because he didn’t understand the directions or wasn’t familiar with the order of operations.

Book Reports
When dealing with a written assignment such as a book report, break the assignment into a time-line type of checklist for them. Popsicle sticks and markers are perfect for the job. On each popsicle stick write something like the following:
Pick a book to read /January 10.
Record the title, author, publisher/January 12
Read chapters 1-3/January 17
Read chapters 4-6/January 22
Finish the book; chapters 7-10/January 27

Then, after the book is read, instead of asking the student to sit down and write the report, request that the student verbally present her rough draft via a “creative report.” Allowing the student to hear her own words will help her internalize the information and make the writing process much easier and straightforward.

The following ideas for Auditory Learners and Kinesthetic Learners incorporate both Part P and Part B because they provide a child with something physical (P) to do with his hands or an opportunity to move around, while simultaneously having a mental challenge for his brain (B).

Auditory Learners are great listeners and usually very vocal.
A good opening line for an organizer to use with an auditory learner is: “Tell me about your homework assignments. . . . .” but follow up this line with a twist!

“and pretend you’re a TV reporter on the evening news.” The child may sit at the kitchen table and use a “mike” (vacuum cleaner attachments work well as do salt or pepper shakers).
“and act out 3 main events in your day.” The child may stand on a small rug, but the rule is not to leave the rug while they’re acting. This exercise will help children with sequencing events, something they’re often expected to do at school.
“and chat with me while this metronome is ticking. Can you bob your head back and forth and talk at the same time?”

Kinesthetic Learners usually think best on their feet.
Try these ideas with “Tell me about your homework assignments. . . .” or for helping with memory-related homework:

Place yardsticks or rulers on the floor. The child can explain to you the order that they should do math, reading, and spelling words by laying out the sticks (one for math, one for reading, etc.) in order.
As the child to explain or list her assignments (or whatever it is she’s trying to learn or memorize) directly to herself by talking in front of a mirror.
Let the child use dolls or puppets to do the talking for her.
Play Clap, Tap, Slap. This game has proven to be extremely effective for memorizing spelling or multiplication facts. The rhythm and cadence and sing-song style encourage the facts to stick. Boys especially enjoy the military marching tune of “left, right, left, right, left . . . .” You’ve heard children recite TV commercials or radio jingles – Clap, Tap, Slap works on the same principle and you can modify it to fit all sorts of memory work. Tapping rhythms, using “hand jive” motions and claps, and having fun with sing-song chants, like the ones used for jump-roping games, can be fun and easy ways to learn facts quickly.
Ohhhhh, Macarena! Fun songs such as The Funky Chicken and the Macarena are wildly popular with kids – put the motions to work for learning spelling words. For example, if the word is “America,” ask the child to stand up and do the motions for the Macarena dance while they spell the words out loud. You probably know of other songs that use motions that would work well, also. The repetition of the motions can help the repetition and memory of math facts, lists, dates and other such memory work.

Use positive language as a reward.
Use simple statements such as:
Wow; you’re brainy. I wouldn’t have come up with that answer.
I like the way you think!
Hey, you’re a miniature Einstein!
How on earth did you do that? Impressive!

Encourage children with such phrases as:
Keep thinking like that—I think you’ve almost solved it.
You really tried hard – I’m proud of your effort.
I can tell that this is getting easier for you. You amaze me.
You should feel really proud of yourself.

The following ideas offer some suggestions on how to organize schoolwork, personal stuff, and schedules.

Crate on Wheels or Portable Hanging File Folder
Why a crate? It’s a mini file cabinet on wheels that can easily be moved from room to room. Novelty is a must for ADD students; a moveable crate allows their homework environment to change periodically. The crate, containing color-coded file folders, is a system that most kids enjoy using once they learn how. Create both a business and a personal section.

The business section contains all things relating to school with a folder for each subject and an extra one for projects that are works-in-progress. After the project is complete, it should be filed under the appropriate subject. I suggest blue for business, for example, because the first letters match. Make sure you explain the color scheme you choose—again, teach them why you are doing things a certain way. An older child may be able to choose the colors himself and explain why he or she has chosen that particular color for a particular subject. He should have a specific reason why he relates, say, red to business. Maybe it fires him up!

The “p” for personal folders could also be “p” for pink, purple, passionate red, papaya orange, or even pepperoni brownish-red. They hold documents related to topics such as:
Memorabilia: photographs, ticket stubs and awards
Passwords: i-tune account information, PSP and Game Boy data, etc.
Sports: schedules, registration forms, contact information on teammates
Hobbies: choir, music, scouting, articles they tear out of magazines related to crafts, etc.
Religion: Sunday school activities, confirmation class schedules, youth group outings, etc. Equipment: warranty and purchase information for their personal property: bikes, software installations, calculator instructions, etc.

Calendars
A year-at-a-glance academic calendar can be a great organizational tool for children in 3^rd grade or older.

* Print a copy of the year-long calendar and highlight all holidays, teacher workdays, and early release days. Place it in a page protector and clip it to the front of their portable crate. Younger students will need to be taught how to use a calendar but once explained, using a calendar becomes a learned skill that will be incredibly useful for them.

* Most students younger than 3^rd grade don’t understand the linear significance of a calendar. It’s a surprise to some younger children that calendars are arranged in lines and rows and read left to right like a book. This concept is foreign to them. Interestingly, more than one junior client has commented that they thought calendars should be like clocks—round.

Binders can be a thing of beauty.

Pocket Folders
Pocket folders help children avoid having to dig in their backpacks and having their papers scattered everywhere. Label one side Homework and the other side Sign and Return.
Either buy a pocket folder that is already hole-punched or punch holes in one yourself and put the pocket folder in the student’s binder. Pocket folders help children avoid having to dig in their backpacks and having their papers scattered everywhere. Label one side and the other side. Either buy a pocket folder that is already hole-punched or punch holes in one yourself and put the pocket folder in the student’s binder.

Tabbed Dividers
Color-coded dividers help the student keep his binder organized because the colors make subjects easy to “read”. For example, green may represent science, blue for reading, red for writing, yellow for social studies, etc. A child may want to represent his favorite subject with his favorite color, for example. Again, encourage the child to attach some significance to the relationship of the color and the subject, but there’s no right or wrong here. Within each color-coded section, create a section for quizzes and tests. Use the same color tab and place a gold star on it; put this divider behind the first divider of the same subject. It is important that students learn to hang on to old quizzes and tests that will help them study and reflect upon what they have learned. Collected tests and graded papers also serve as progress indicators so the child can see how much she’s learning throughout the year.

How to Become a Wise Person at Any Age

You don’t have to be old to be wise. Wisdom can happen suddenly at any age and anyone you meet at any moment could make you wise! Some of us acquire wisdom through life experiences and natural maturation – we are the processors. Reflecting on past experiences, like pieces in a puzzle, helps us to learn the lessons of the past. And some of us are simply born older with a feel for things, looking at the world with wise, eager eyes. We respond to breakthrough moments.

How do you know that you have reached the age of wisdom? You feel happy and at ease with who you are and what you have to offer to all those you meet and greet. As a wise person, when you don’t feel happy, or you feel anxious, you change what isn’t working for you because you are flexible. The attributes of the wise are natural, open and direct. The wise eagerly share with others both material goods and positive words. In fact, they love to give everyone a compliment, finding the right words to say as a pick-me-up. To be wise is to live in the present, alert to a change in the air, in the body and in the heart.

Living in good alignment releases wisdom from head to toe. It begins with good posture and a firm stance opening up a direct communication between the mind and the heart. Sitting up straight at our desks helps oxygen reach the brain and releases pressure off the back. Next, balancing the heart with internal and external compassion releases the hurt, loss and anger that we store inside. Learning to let go of the anger we aim at others and then most importantly to forgive ourselves, we restore our natural heart rhythm feeling calm and content. Ultimately, balancing our two brains, the primal limbic brain and the cognitive brain, letting our feelings make peace with our rationalizations, we can see clearly down the road and get inspired.

Try this simple exercise every morning to facilitate a reflex response to wisdom. Imagine your abdomen the color of golden energy. Your heart center is white and pure. Your forehead, the center of inspiration, is indigo blue. Stand up and imagine lining up the colors of: gold, white and blue. You will feel balanced emotionally and physically, ready to start your day in a calmly active way. Balancing earth practicality with spiritual vision on a daily basis will make you wise and in touch with your inner knowing.

To access your wisdom now:

Tune out distractions and be in the moment. Focus on whatever you are doing whether it is washing the floor, driving the car or writing a legal brief. Multi-tasking or talking on a cell phone even while you are doing a physical job will diminish your capacity for concentration in all other things that you do.
Make it a priority to connect with some aspect of nature daily. Take a few moments to really look at a neighborhood tree, listen to a bird, or feel the sun on your skin. Reset your natural rhythm to align with nature. Zen masters have said that enlightenment is contained in a single flower. Become enlightened by choosing your own flower to appreciate. What flower did you select? What colors? What stage of its blossoming? What does that say about you?
Activate and share your passion. Fall in love again and again with whatever you choose to do.
Be joyous. Look for opportunities to trigger and fuel laughter. Laugh with others. There is great spirituality in laughter.
Begin everyday with a clean slate. How would it feel to wake up clean and fresh with happiness in your heart?