11 year old scatterbrained and upset with himself

[Anonymous]

I have a 6th grader too and agree there is a lot to remember!
I highly recommend getting this planner (our school uses the elementary version) and having your son get into the habit of writing everything on there including reminders: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BYKDCB6B/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Also, my child will frequently make a list and write it on her hand.
HTH!

[Anonymous]

Buy a 2-inch or 2.5-inch plastic three-ring binder.

That one binder is all your kid ever has to remember. That, and the school laptop.

The binder has his work folders in it, his loose leaf assignments, blank sheet paper. It is everything. At the end of class, it goes back into the backpack.

One binder pocket is for this week's stuff.

The other binder pocket at the back is for older stuff, but still might be needed

Every few weeks, you reorganize the binder by taking out the unneeded/old work sheets that are just taking up space. You keep all the old worksheets in a pile or a box in case your kid needs them later. At the end of the school year, you have your kid go through the pile and figure out if anything needs to be saved, or it can be recycled. Goodbye, school year!

Bottom line: You minimize what your student needs to juggle. It's all in one place instead of in multiple places. It works very well for our more-forgetful kid (HS).

Let the water bottle issue go -- kids lose them!

[Anonymous]

Op here. Thank you for all the suggestions.

I emailed his homeroom teacher ahead of PT conferences (next week), who said oh he's just all around great and all kids are learning how to get organized this year no worries... But I worry it's more like adhd. His dad has terrible executive functioning skills that causes big life problems for him but he absolutely won't admit it.He'll say "oh yeah I definitely had undiagnosed ADHD as a kid," or he'll talk about how he leaves things in odd places, BUT anytime I've tried to talk to him about how I think he could be helped tremendously by testing and a diagnosis and possibly medication, he's offended. He has much bigger problems than losing things, and I don't want that for my child (or his future partner and children 🌝)

DS has coasted so far. good grades, no social issues, just lots of reminding about things at times. But I think I'm seeing more than just "a little disorganized" especially considering how upset he gets with himself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Buy a 2-inch or 2.5-inch plastic three-ring binder.

That one binder is all your kid ever has to remember. That, and the school laptop.

The binder has his work folders in it, his loose leaf assignments, blank sheet paper. It is everything. At the end of class, it goes back into the backpack.

One binder pocket is for this week's stuff.

The other binder pocket at the back is for older stuff, but still might be needed

Every few weeks, you reorganize the binder by taking out the unneeded/old work sheets that are just taking up space. You keep all the old worksheets in a pile or a box in case your kid needs them later. At the end of the school year, you have your kid go through the pile and figure out if anything needs to be saved, or it can be recycled. Goodbye, school year!

Bottom line: You minimize what your student needs to juggle. It's all in one place instead of in multiple places. It works very well for our more-forgetful kid (HS).

Let the water bottle issue go -- kids lose them!

Op. I love this idea. He really needs a Trapper Keeper (loved mine). But his school has a system where each class has a spiral notebook, so I don't know if they'd fit in a binder. They do have one special homework folder they bring to every class. But he has to remember to not only bring the folder home, but also whichever book and/or notebook that goes along with the homework.

I let the water bottle and the lunch boxes go. But he's hard on himself.

[Anonymous]

I have ADHD and am unmedicated. For me, the key is to do things the SECOND I think of them and to write myself notes in at least two places. Obviously I have more freedom of movement than a middle schooler, but for example, the second I realized I needed to bring home a sheet of paper, it'd go in my bag. If I routinely bring a lunch bag and water bottle into the cafeteria, I'd remind myself "you should always be holding two things each time you leave the cafeteria." I used to write things I needed to take home on my arm (hand sweats off pen) and check my arm at the end of the day before leaving school.

Today I dropped something at the drycleaners to be fixed - I put the slip on my fridge, but also a reminder in my Outlook with a pop-up reminder. So even if I forget, my Outlook will remind me.