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Best Student Planner for Kids with Executive Functioning Challenges


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Hi There,

My son (7th Grade) is going to possibly enroll in an online class next year for the first time.   He struggles a lot with time management, planning his time, and staying on task.   Work typically takes him a LONG time compared to most kids.    

I would like to work on teaching and coaching him in his executive functioning skills prior to high school and college.   (That is one of the main reasons I am considering an online class because it would give him some outside deadlines before grades really matter...and Latin.  I am sort of done teaching Latin at this point.)   

Can anyone recommend a good student planner for kids who struggle with time management?  I want something where he can see his time for the week, write down deadlines, and write down a plan to meet those deadlines.    I was considering the "Order out of Chaos" planner, but it doesn't seem to give him much room to write on.   (The full day planner, which is most applicable for homeschool kids, only comes in a small personal size.)    Are there any other alternatives I should know about?

Thanks for the help!

 

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For us, the set-up of the class (live vs. asynchronous), use of accommodations, etc. was pivotal to success. I would not recommend beginning with a syllabus-driven class with no live component. With live classes you have some additional things like screen shots of assignments. My dd used tech for those classes and still does in college. Heathermomster got the paper driven stuff, and it looks great too. The concepts are the same and there are pros and cons. For my dd, teaching her to use her accommodations and self-advocate was a big piece.

 

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1 hour ago, PeterPan said:

For us, the set-up of the class (live vs. asynchronous), use of accommodations, etc. was pivotal to success. I would not recommend beginning with a syllabus-driven class with no live component. With live classes you have some additional things like screen shots of assignments. My dd used tech for those classes and still does in college. Heathermomster got the paper driven stuff, and it looks great too. The concepts are the same and there are pros and cons. For my dd, teaching her to use her accommodations and self-advocate was a big piece.

  

3

Yes, I am only going to do live classes.   I space out with pre recorded classes, so I imagine that he will too.   (Latin through Memoria Press is what I am looking at.)   And it appears that they have a website which lists homework/due dates.   (Still researching though.)

What digital tools do you use for helping them to manage time?     Any tips you have would be greatly appreciated!   🙂 🙂    

1 hour ago, Heathermomster said:

 

I watched the video, but I am still having problems figuring out how one is supposed to use that particular planner.

As far as I understand, the first thing my son would do is write out his monthly calendar.   Right?  I keep track of all family events on an iCal.    He subscribes to this calendar on his iPad.   So I think he could just copy this out once a month.   This would force him to look at the calendar which is good.   But I would then have to remember to remind him about anything I added to the calendar.   (Hmmmm....Wonder if I could keep track of this.   Would we just double check it each week?)

Next, when my son received due dates in his classes, would these also go on his monthly calendar?   For example, homework due Monday, report due in three weeks, etc.

I guess I am a little confused about how the weekly calendar fits in with the monthly calendars.   (I also dislike that it only gives you 4 calendars.)  Let's say that he has an event that repeats every other week.  Where would he write that?  And what about a homework assignment that repeats each week?   (Example:  weekly quiz)  Would that be recorded on the monthly calendar or the weekly calendar?

NEXT, I am assuming that daily (or perhaps weekly), he would pull out his to-do lists and pencil in when he could complete all of hte tasks leading up to the due dates on the monthly calendar?   

 

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1 hour ago, Heathermomster said:

Check out the following link: 

Your child will require EF supports and possible academic accommodations to successfully use ANY planner.  My DS uses electronic and paper planners.  He tapes his monthly paper planners to his dorm room wall..

 

Of course.   Just trying to find some tools that I can give him as I teach this.

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We have used this planner this year with my DS. 

It has a great weekly layout that's already dated with blank subject headings.  It has a monthly calendar to record student activities.  It is colorful, has a hard cover, and is very simple to open and use.  And $10.  But, I don't see a 2019-2020 version yet.

I will say that for my DS, juggling various planning formats as he's learning how to schedule/organize would've been too much.  Keeping things very simple keeps him on board (not overwhelmed) in our weekly planning meetings.  It also means he's more likely to actually pick it up and use it through the week.   

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I think it's not about the specific planner. It's about being hands on with it and really making it an integrated part of your homeschool. I write directly in my kids' planners for tasks I assign because if I was in a classroom, I'd write it on the board or put it on a classroom website/portal and have students take it down themselves. But when it's one or two students, I find that intermediary step absurd and just write it for them. I don't expect them to be able to jot it down from memory of what I say orally and nor do most teachers. They're expected to write in work from their outside classes - and they do. But I think my writing in work helps them want to consolidate it and gives them a model.

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Order out of Chaos planners. She designed them with her son's challenges in mind. ADHD, EF deficiencies, and learning issues. We used this planner this year and things have gone so much more smoothly because he could see what the day and the week looked like and prioritize accordingly. We could have productive conversations about what days to plan to do X and not have arguments about how he is sure he has time to do X, Y or Z later.

https://products.orderoochaos.com/

Edited by calbear
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I'd love to find a printable planner for my son.  We'd do monthly calendars on one side of the folder and two weekly looks IN the folder itself -- this week and next week.  We'd scan the monthly views regularly and be able to print it all out and keep moving forward should it get lost with at most a couple days of homework lost.

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Maybe we can do more in this area, but right now I make checklists of work & daily activities from Homeschool Planet and print them off each day. Both my sons will them over and oldest DS will check the boxes. We also have a paper calendar on the fridge with everyone's activities color coded. After years of OT and printing practice, oldest DS's handwriting is still illegible, so something electronic will work best, when he eventually moves towards being more proactive. Oldest ds also receives reminder emails from HSP and, I believe, could edit and add things himself if he wanted. It's extremely easy to use. 

Edited by Mrs. Tharp
wanted to add more info
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On 3/8/2019 at 2:25 PM, Doodlebug said:

 

I will say that for my DS, juggling various planning formats as he's learning how to schedule/organize would've been too much.  Keeping things very simple keeps him on board (not overwhelmed) in our weekly planning meetings.  It also means he's more likely to actually pick it up and use it through the week.   

This is so true for us! What is working best for us is this:  A dollar store planner calendar with just a monthly spread. My ADHD child is to write from her emails about various upcoming things. We sit and do this together: We will put in her work dates, her dance schedule, her upcoming field trips, tests, anything that applies to her for a month. We read the emails together from her various activities, and I add them to my calendar and she puts them on hers. We keep a large whiteboard for to do lists for the week in our main living area. We all add the to dos that are imperative that day or week and cross off as we go. 

Then I have her set reminders on her phone. So she will get a reminder alarm to get her stuff ready for the next day or an hour before a test or class or whatever she has going on. For classwork in the classes with deadlines we write that in as well. Currently that is her Alg. 2. It just says the lesson number she should be on, so we can watch it weekly to see if she is staying on task and adjust if necessary. For outside classes, we put steps on the calendar if needed for assignments. 

I have tried fancy planners with a page for monthly items, a spread for things by the week, and a spread for the entire month. At this time, that is too much for mine to keep up with. She needs the one page spread only to deal with. She will forget things on one spread to the other and won't keep up with multiple lists/pages. The whiteboard keeps things very visible.  🙂

Edited by 2_girls_mommy
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