By September, the 'new school year' shine has often worn off — and for a lot of families, the little snags start to show up. Misplaced papers, forgotten assignments, a harder time switching gears between activities. Often, what looks like a motivation problem is actually an executive functioning problem.

Executive function skills, which include planning, organizing, managing time, shifting between tasks — are still developing throughout childhood and adolescence. They develop at very different rates from academic skills. A bright, capable student can still struggle to get out the door on time or track a multi-step assignment. That’s not laziness. That’s a skill gap, and skill gaps can be built up with practice.

A few resets that help:

• External over internal — checklists, visual schedules, and set locations for backpacks and papers do the organizing so kids don’t have to hold it all in their heads.
• Break the transition, not just the task — a 5-minute warning before switching activities (homework to dinner, screen to bedtime) reduces meltdowns more than the transition itself.
• Same time, same place — a consistent homework spot and start time removes a decision point that otherwise eats up willpower.

Our take:

September is a great time to reset routines before they calcify into September-through-June patterns. If your child’s executive function skills are a sticking point, this is exactly what we work on in our Creative Learning Studio sessions — using best-practice, research-based programs to build practical systems that stick.

Here’s to smoother mornings!

Warmly,

Stefanie

Stefanie Greenberg

Educational Therapist/Professional

Founder

Creative Learning Studio

424.235.8788

www.creativelearningstudio.net