Staying organized for school can be tricky for younger students. This year may be especially difficult with all of the changes that our students are facing. Parents are faced with many big decisions to make and children may feel uneasy about it all. This Daily Planner for School will help your student stay organized and up-to-date with their studies, homework, and reminders. Plus, the Daily Review section will give your child an opportunity to process their feelings and remember to be grateful during a very different school year. These printable planner pages are great if you are doing school at home this year too!
Processing
The beginning of the school year is here. While this time of year inevitably brings with it some sense of anxiety, this year certainly offers a bit more than others. Our children are probably both excited and nervous to be returning to school and I think it goes without saying that parents are feeling the weight of it all too.
Adults, typically, have gained some experience dealing with stressful situations which allows us to better process some of these difficult emotions and remain productive. Children, on the other hand, have yet to gain these important skills and may struggle.
As parents, we play a huge role in developing our children’s ability to be resilient, organized, and focused. Those skills are more relevant this year than perhaps any other before. So how can we help them through this difficult time?
It goes without saying that younger students are far less self-aware than, say, high school students. They are also still learning the executive functioning skills required for self-organization and task management. Because of this, it can be more difficult for younger children to stay organized and to identify and vocalize big feelings.
In developing printable daily planner pages for kids, my goal was to help with establishing organization skills. Keeping track of things like homework, projects, and other to-dos are an obvious starting point but, considering the current state of things, I felt compelled to dive a little deeper than that.
Helping your Child Process Big Feelings
Academics and organization are obviously very important, but I wanted a way to offer our younger students the opportunity to share their feelings in a way that becomes a part of their daily routine as well.
To do this, I have added a section to these printable academic planner pages that includes a section helping them to easily identify their mood as well as a daily journaling section with prompts for further thought and daily gratitude.
The goal is to teach them to effectively communicate their feelings, identify both difficult and positive aspects of their day, and to provide them a reminder to be thankful. While there are prompts to identify struggles within their day, the end-goal is to inspire positivity and reflection.
In times like these, it can be hard to see the good in the more difficult days. Whether you are an adult or a child, taking a few moments of your day to reflect can be a simple but effective way to unpack and process those feelings.
These printable daily planner pages will allow you to sit with your child to review academic responsibilities and tasks like homework and upcoming projects while also providing the opportunity for dialogue around feelings, gratitude, and successes.
Help your Student with School Organization
In the Assignment section, students can track homework assignments for each class. This section is intended for items due the next day or items that will be worked on immediately (any items on this list that are not completed should be moved to the next day when possible so that they are not accidentally overlooked or forgotten). Here is an example of how this might look:
Next is the Study section. This is where your student can list any upcoming tests or quizzes that require additional study. Subjects that require extra attention should be written each day up to the event to maximize study time.
Under that is the Reminders section. This is a helpful spot to note upcoming events, materials and books needed to complete homework and study assignments, or even reminders to bring musical instruments or sports equipment for after school activities.
The Notes section is for any additional information, thoughts, or questions that may need to be documented/ remembered.
The Daily Review
On the right, you will see some emoji faces. This is your child’s Daily Review section.
At the top of this section, you will see a mood rating scale using smiley faces. This is a very basic mood identifier including happy, very happy, meh, a little sad, very sad, and angry. The child can circle, check, or even color in the one that best reflects their mood. Parents can review these emotions with their children and identify any patterns or extended periods of difficulty.
Daily Journaling Prompts
Beneath that section, you will find the Journaling space. I have included some prompts to help young students think about their day and feelings. You will notice that the majority of them are focused on the positive aspects of the day. This is meant to increase their focus on the positive. Of course, difficult feelings should never be overlooked and students are also offered the opportunity to discuss the harder parts of their day.
The last prompt is to write down something that they are grateful for. Practicing daily gratitude has been proven in increasing a positive mindset and reducing stress. That is certainly beneficial for individuals of all ages.
Help your Child get in the Habit of Using this Printable.
Printables are great but unless it’s used it’s not very helpful.
We have a pretty good system and routine for after school. Our children are expected to empty their lunch boxes, get dressed, and take out their homework. This is a great time to check in with your student and review their Daily Planner. Add this to your Afterschool Routine (you can find my free afterschool routine printable here.) When reviewing the planner page note any sections that were difficult for your student to complete and help them understand. Talk about their feelings for the day if they were struggling. Keep it short and simple. Sometimes just asking a simple question like: “what made today a really great day?” is enough to get the conversation started.
Daily Planner Printable for Teens and Adults
Maybe you have an older child or you are looking for a daily planning printable for yourself. This time-blocking daily planning page would be an even better fit for you. Check out the post and get your free daily planning printable here.
Download your Printable Daily Planner for Kids
I hope you find this printable helpful. It’s a weird year for many of us and I’m sure some children are finding these changes unsettling or they may have questions. This planner printable is just a tool to help you start the conversation and keep talking about the big feelings they might be having – with the added benefit of teaching them to be more organized!
You should receive your download link via e-mail within the hour. Be sure to search your inbox for: “Your download from Hey Donna is here!”. If, after an hour, you have not received your link, please contact me and I’ll help you figure out what happened.
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