Most young individuals are overawed by the prospect of fitting everything they have and want to do into the few short hours after school. Apart from homework, activities, and the time to play, there’s a lot to do. Though most kids don’t possess the cognitive skills to arrange their schedules on their own until middle school, you can start teaching them the ways to plan and prioritize their time. When children are taught the strategies for managing their time from an early age, they internalize them, which set them up for a lifetime of success.
If you are wondering how to even begin with teaching to prioritize their time, no worries! Parents and teachers shared their time management tips for kids on the vital concepts and lessons to teach, according to age levels, so you can plan this school year’s schedule in a more manageable, successful way garnished with a whole lot more fun for everyone!
Try the mentioned steps to teach kids time management skills.
Make time management fun
Time management works different for adults. They tend to associate time management with pool cars, maintaining bedtimes, endless appointments and PTA meetings. The stress is so high that it can make you want to throw the clock out.
Learning time management needs to be fun for kids. Use bright crayons to make colourful calendars. You can add stickers to mark special days. Plan a game to see who completes simple tasks around the house that normally takes up considerable amount of time, like brushing teeth, putting on shoes or getting backpacks ready for school tomorrow etc. The more fun you make it for your kids; the easier it will be to get them to understand the importance of time and how to manage it.
Start before they’re teens
It is certain that apart from kids, you can teach time management skills to teens as well. But the earlier you start, the better for them and the easier your days will be. Pre-schoolers can learn via small tasks that can be completed in lesser time; such as putting on their clothes or picking up their toys.
Your school going child can begin with set start and end times, like completing their homework and doing simple age-appropriate chores around the house.
Show Your Kids How to Measure Time
Besides knowing how to tell time, kids should also know how to measure time. Help them understand the concept by setting a timer when they're completing a task. Keep a clock nearby and do a verbal countdown as the minutes tick by, so they can feel the passing time audibly. Here, one thing that you need to keep in mind is that your aim is not to teach your kids to live by the clock, your goal is simply to assist them understand what an hour, 10 minutes or even 1 minute feels like. So, the next time you say, "Pick up your toys in 10 minutes," they'll know that means they have limited time to get done with the chore.
Stay on Task
When the kids are just learning about time management, stay on task. When time is up for a particular task, move on to the next task on the schedule, no matter how involved they are in the current task. Drifting away from the schedule, even for a few minutes can throw kids off the track. So, stick to your schedule, especially during the early days and weeks of learning time management.
Don't Over schedule Your Kids
One of the most common mistakes made by teachers/parents is trying to make sure that the kids get to participate in every activity post school-time. But what exactly happens at the end is that the entire family is being over scheduled to the point that the entire schedule can be jam-packed every day of the week.
Do a favour and don't over schedule the kids. As an alternative of learning about time management the right way, all they feel is a constant rush that has them craving a few minutes of idle time. Over scheduling throws their clock off and yours as well. Try and avoid it, so all of you can get a better grip on time management.
Final thoughts
With a certification in Pre and Primary Teacher Training Course Bangalore and skills gained from the program, it becomes easy to assist kids prioritize their day, something they can use throughout their lifetime. It will aid them in getting the most important tasks done daily where as setting each one up in order to complete long-term goals as well. Start small. Begin with daily priorities before moving to weekly and then to monthly priorities. You'll instantly set the kids up for success and who will become masters of time management.
Written By : Krishna Shetty