Guest Blog Post! Six Summer Strategies to Start School Strong

We recently had the pleasure to make the acquaintance of Allison Venuto, scholastic organizing extraordinaire. She uses her skills to help students work more efficiently and build the tools they'll need to thrive in high school, college, and beyond. She was kind enough to lend us her words of wisdom. Check out what she has to say below! Her contact information is at the bottom of the post so you can learn more about her there. 

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Mornings at the pool followed by lazy, long afternoons watching “Gilligan's Island” reruns were the best of summer days for me. I worked hard during the year, so I took this time to relax and enjoy myself.  Some (my mother) may argue that I took this relaxation a little too seriously.

Your student probably doesn’t even want to hear the word school! I know!

However, increasingly, studies show that these dog days of summer can lead to a decrease in the retention of the previous year’s learning achievements. There are a few (hopefully painless) strategies that you can help students develop during the summer that can can lead to a more successful school year.

1. Obtain the school’s reading list for the upcoming school year.  Ask your student to choose the order of the books and read alongside the student to help develop the expectation of reading.  Yes, the student might want to re-read the text during the year, but s/he will have a leg up on the competition come next year.
2. Practice note-taking while reading.  Ask your student to take on the content of each chapter.  For example, a character list, major plot points, and predictions are some of the ways that a reader can more fully understand the material.  
3. Create a daily to do list.  Each day, ask your student to write down all of the tasks s/he needs to complete during the day.  Include chores, appointments, reading, etc.  As your student completes the tasks, ask him/her to check off the completed assignments.
4. Break up the to do list with rewards.  Ask your student to list the tasks s/he wants to complete during the day.  This might include hobbies, time with friends, tv, etc.  As your student completes a “to do” task, ask her to move to the “rewards” list and complete an item off of that list.  Again, checking items off when completed.
5. Practice using a planner.  Once your student becomes proficient at #3 and #4, ask him/her to write the list in his/her planner for each day.  Move towards entering future activities and breaking up larger tasks into shorter ones.
6. Buy matching school supplies.  Once August rolls around, ask your student to go school supply shopping with you.  Ask your student to assign colors to classes (e.g., math is blue, English is red) and purchase supplies for that class in corresponding colors.  This way, your student can quickly find materials for an assignment.

When you work with your student a little each day to develop these skills, you’ll find that the dog days of summer won’t come back to bite your family. In fact, these skills will become your best friend!

Happy summer!

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Allison Venuto, who never leaves the house without sunscreen, owns Ducks in a Row Personal Organizing wherein she works with clients on space and scholastic organizing. Please contact her with questions at [email protected].