Teaching children time management in MCP Student Care Centre
Most kids don’t have the cognitive skills to organize their schedules independently until middle school, however it is never too early to start teaching them how to plan and prioritize their time. “When we teach children strategies for time management from an early age, they internalize them, which sets them up for lifelong success,” said Lynn Meltzer, Ph.D., President of the Research Institute for Learning and Development, a non-profit research and educational organization.
This is how we teach children the basic time-management skills at MCP Student Care Centre:
1) We use a visual timer to help them comprehend how much time is left to complete a task. For example, we set the timer for 15 minutes for children to finish their lunch. We explain that rushing to finish their lunch is bad for digestion but taking too long to complete their meal means they will have less time for their homework or playtime.
2) Establish a routine and help children to stick to it.
We help children to establish a daily routine when in our student care centre. This helps children become more accountable. Homework time, snack time, assessment practice, and group playing time are structured.
3) Helping children to create a weekly schedule.
Creating a weekly schedule is the first step to learn about prioritising tasks. We assist each child to create a weekly calendar and plan their own progress of their spelling and TingXie preparation progress.
Educating your child on how to manage time effectively can be challenging but the sooner you start, the easier it’ll be for your child to understand the significance of time and learn ways to keep pace with the continuously ticking clock.
We believe time management is a skill that’s best learned as a child and the benefits of learning the process will last throughout their life.
*MCP is a premium Student Care Center near River Valley and Alexandra Primary School.