Calendars for Kids

My 11-year old daughter is organized. Not overly organized, but probably more so than a lot of kids her age.

Given that she has a natural tendency to organize, I thought it would be great to work with her on some of the basics of the Mind Organization for Moms system – see if I could make it “kid-friendly” for her.

We started with the Calendar/Planner and discussed which items would go on a calendar and which would go on a next actions list.

She seemed to pick up that concept pretty easily: if it was an appointment, a game/practice, or a homework due date, it would go on the calendar. Also, if there was something that HAD to be done on a certain day . . . like making a phone call, etc., she would include that as well.

She already uses a homework planner for school (that she says she is very thankful for), so we started from there, and she showed me her current planning process.

On Sundays, we try to get in a quick review of what is going on during the upcoming week, and, surprisingly, she added these things into her planner – even those things that her little sister had planned.

It was great to look through and see, from her perspective, which things were important for her to note. It was also great to see that she puts a lot of emphasis on the weekend/family days that we spend working on our property. Yay for Family Time! (Family: 1, Peers: 0.)

We also discussed if it is better for her to use her paper planner or a calendar on her iPod. Since the iPod is the item she gets taken away when the preteen attitude strikes (Family: 1, Peers: 1), we decided to have her work with a paper planner for the time being. It also gives me the opportunity to talk to her about the homework that is in her planner.

Recommendation: If your middle/high school student doesn’t already use a planner for homework, activities, and everything else that they have going on, I highly recommend getting them started. It gives them the responsibility to stay on top of their own schedule and helps them manage their time. I am so glad that our teachers have the students use them at our school.

Our next Mind Organization session: Next Action Lists. Stay tuned . . ..

About Chantol Sego

Chantol married her high school sweetheart in 1998. They have two teenage daughters and a farm full of animals in Western Washington. She has a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Puget Sound and works full-time in the finance industry. In addition to her full-time job, she volunteers for the board of a new non-profit that is helping to bring civic renewal and new town events and activities to her small home town. Event planning that supports family and community has been a passion of hers for years. She also enjoys coordinating weddings when the opportunity arises. Check out her site-- My Something New . Even with a full schedule, family definitely comes first and she enjoys being able to work with her kids on volunteer projects, encourage their passions, teach them about business, organizing, and planning, and be a constant cheerleader and support as they go about this "growing into responsible adults" journey.

For Power of Moms, Chantol has written articles, edited and contributed to "Deliberate Motherhood", assisted with the POM Pinterest page and social media support for the STEP program. She is so thankful to be able to be part of a group that supports moms in all areas of their motherhood adventure.