The Homeschool Resource

• “Life skills” are necessary skills that your child will need to become a self-sufficient adult.

• Time management is important as both a student as well as an adult as it encourages structure and productivity.

• Starting young children with daily routines, teaching them about realistic timings, and then gradually building up to letting them create their own schedules is a way of natural building their time management skills.

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Teaching Life Skills

For me, the term “life skills” includes aspects of home life, social life, financial literacy, mental well-being, analytical skills, and what I will call “life after high school” skills. Life skills tend to be a somewhat overlooked teaching category. But those skills not only help them with life after school but also help them to build independence and confidence. This is the knowledge that they will take with them into the world when they leave the nest and go off on their own.

I have always tried to include “life skills” in our learning process as I see them to be just as important a teaching matter as subjects such as math and language arts. However, as my children have gotten older, I have realized that while I did teach them some life skills there are many that I never even considered. One skill that I realize now that I should have started earlier is time management skills.

Why Teaching Time Management Skills is Important

Our daily time is a limited resource. We can only get so many things done in a day. As adults we prioritize our time by making schedules, setting deadlines, and managing our time. For some people this is done in a less formal way but regardless, we all know what we need to get done during the day and can manage our time accordingly. However, with children, the idea of having a limited amount of time during the day and the act of getting done with activities in a certain time frame is a little more obscure.

How to Teach Time Management by Age Group

While time management is important for kids in the preteen and older age groups, teaching it at an earlier age is highly beneficial. And while concepts need to start off in simpler terms, the main ideas are scalable. Here is a breakdown of how you can teach time management to all age groups.

Preschoolers (age 2-4):

• Create a Routine – The best way to teach very young children about time management is to give them a daily routine. This doesn’t mean planning every minute of the day, but just having a general routine that you stick to. Have meals at the same time every day; make bedtime the same time every day. Even activities such as going to story time at the library every Wednesday or visiting the park after lunch on Friday’s teach young children about time.

• Make a Calendar/Schedule – For young children, visual representations are much easier to understand than spoken ones. By writing down or using pictures to show when activities like breakfast, lunch, dinner, tv time, bath time, and bedtime are going to be, your child will know what to expect and in what order things will be done. This gives them a better understanding of time progression through the day and gives them a foundation to build on later.

• Use Timers – A fun way to help children visualize time and time limits is to use a timer. This can be a physical one or an electronic one. Setting a timer for activities like screen time or outside play lets them see how much time they have left to do those activities.

• Let Your Child Make Choices in Schedules and Activities – If you tell your toddler to get dressed because you need to go somewhere chances are you will have to say this multiple times. However, if you offer your child the question “do you want to wear this outfit or that outfit?” their response will be more positive. Even small children want to be given choices so that they can voice their opinion. In time management, this can mean to give them options like “do you want to watch an episode of Bluey first or take a bath first?” when referring to their evening routine. Giving them options makes them feel more in control and will help them become more confident in their own time management as they get older.

Elementary Aged Children:

• Continue with a Routine – This age group of children have now started school. This will add to their routine as wake-up, get dressed, school time, and then homework may be added. Sticking to a scheduled routine will continue to teach them about time and day progression.

• Teach Realistic Timings – Teaching children how to realistically estimate how much time different activities take is a little tricky. Most kids think things take a lot less time than they actually do. That “5” minute bath time that actually takes them 30 minutes or the “quick” bit of homework that takes them over an hour. A great way to help them figure out how long these activities actually take is by setting a stopwatch while they are doing the activity and then showing them afterwards how long it took to complete. For example, set a stopwatch while they are doing their homework everyday for a week. Average out the time so that they know approximately how much time they need to plan to complete their homework each day. Do this for multiple activities so that they can more accurately make their own schedules.

• Set Priorities – This is the age where children need to start learning how to set priorities. To teach this in an age-appropriate way, you will want to introduce this as what needs to be done vs what they want to do. For example, eating, doing homework, and bathtime all have to be done every day whereas playing with friends and watching TV are activities that they want to do but are not needed. Let them know that their “need to do” activities must be done and their “want to do” activities are more flexible.

• Mark Off a To-Do List – Who doesn’t like to see a long list of items that need to be done get marked off one by one? An easy way to get your child excited about getting their activities for the day done is by letting them mark them off as they do them. Sit with them in the morning to write out their to-do list and then leave them in charge of it, marking off activities as they go.

• Make Their Own Schedules – Elementary aged kids, especially those in the later elementary years, can begin to make their own schedules. With your guidance, they can write down what needs to be done during the day such as classes, schoolwork, extracurricular activities, and play time, and set their own priorities. While you should be giving support and guidance, do not take over or try to maximize their productivity in the way that you want it to be done. Giving them the opportunity and encouragement to set their own schedule will set them up for great time management skills in the future.

• Be a Good Role Model – Show your child that you stick to your schedule as well. Cook dinner, get to bed, and have “electronic off” time at the same time every day. If you are consistently late getting them to activities or you tend to leave things for the last minute they will pick up on those habits as well.  

Preteens/Early Teens:

• Provide Time Management Tools – In order for your preteens to stay organized and on-time, they will need some time management tools. Some people prefer to physically write out their days in a scheduler or a to-do list. Others prefer a more technological approach such as using an app or setting alarms on their phone. Feel free to suggest what works for you but let them decide what works best for them. If your child is unsure of which they would prefer, offer them both. There is no right way to go about making a schedule or routine. There is also no reason why multiple sources cannot be tried. If it is easier for them to type out their assignments and activities and sync them with a mobile calendar, then let them try that. If they prefer to write out and color code in a scheduler, then give them that option.

• Set Goals – This is the age where children need to be taught how to set realistic goals. Include the teaching of how to set small goals and how to break down large goals into manageable timeframes. Setting goals gives them something to aim for, and when accomplished, make sure to give them praise and encouragement.

• Be Encouraging – Learning how to set schedules and manage your own time is hard. Make sure that you encourage them along their learning process. Praise them when they stick to their schedule and meet goals and be patient with slip-ups. Nagging or berating them for missteps will not accomplish anything but discouraging them from trying again.

• Reflect on Mistakes – Everyone has a bad day. Or even a bad couple of days. I know there are days where I lack focus or am easily distracted. When you see this occur with your child, help them reflect on the cause. “Why do you think that you missed this goal?” and “What can you do in the future to help you stay on task” are questions that will encourage them to reflect on their mistakes put steps in place to help them stay on schedule in the future.

• Encourage Them to Write Down Everything – No matter how small the assignment or whether they think they will ‘remember’ it, have them put it in their time management tool of choice. If they are reluctant to do so or have a history of forgetting things, ask them questions such as “how are you going to break this activity down?” or “what will you do to help you to remember to do this chore every day/week?”. This will help to reinforce the idea of setting priorities and following a schedule.

• Break Time is Important – While teaching your child about time management, setting goals, and following a schedule, make sure that you don’t forget to teach them that taking breaks is also important. No one is meant to sit for hours on end working. Not only is it mentally draining but also physically unhealthy. Especially for children who are still growing both physically and mentally. Let them know that break times are healthy and promote productivity. Also encourage them to spend some of their break time off screen.

• Have Consequences – While I believe in practicing patience and leniency with children, they still need to learn that their actions have consequences. This meshes with time management in the form of them completing schoolwork, chores, or other activities in a given time frame. If your child is consistently turning in their schoolwork late, you as the teacher, need to put a “late policy” into place. And while this may seem like a practice more aimed at brick-and-mortar schools, your child needs to learn that they do have a responsibility to finish their work in a timely manner. They will not be able to go to college or work in a career where they can just turn in assignments whenever they please. Have a conversation with them first where you lay out the rules such as “for every day that an assignment is late I will be taking off 5 points”. Give out reminders when needed but otherwise leave it to them. However, also offer awards. This could be something like if all schoolwork is completed or if their room is cleaned up by the weekend you can participate in an activity that they enjoy, or they can earn extra time on their electronics.

High School Aged:

• Plan for Long Term – By the time kids are teenagers they should have all the basics covered when it comes to time management. What they may not be prepared for, however, is planning for long term activities. Large assignments such as essays or long-term science experiments will need to be accounted for in their daily schedule. Studying for end-of-year exams, dual enrollment exams, and the SAT/ACT also require extra time daily for many days. Take the opportunity to teach them how to break down these large assignments and dedicate a specific amount of time each day to these activities.

• Most Productive Time – Almost everyone has a time of day when they are most productive. Some people like to get a quick start on their day by tackling their to-do list, some need to ease into their day and then pick up pace closer to lunch time, and others tend to do their best focusing in the afternoon and evening hours. As teens they should now be able to identify when they are the most productive. That time frame is when they should schedule activities that need a lot of focus such as studying for that test or writing that report.

• Discuss Solutions – There are many circumstances that can lead to being unproductive and falling behind schedule. Distractions, procrastination, and being overcommitted tend to be the biggest culprits. When these become an issue with your child, have a discussion with them about how to overcome these situations. If distractions are the culprit, come up with a plan together of how to eliminate distractions during the times when they need to get stuff done. This could be putting their phone in another room or designating specific times to be on their phone or other electronic devices. If they have a tendency to procrastinate, find a solution together such as breaking down activities or assignments into smaller increments throughout the day or providing an incentive for completing deeds early. Overcommitment is another time waster that can lead to underperformance and stress. Remind your child that they only have a limited amount of time in a day and that it is impossible to give 100% to 100 different activities. Have them choose just one or two of the activities, outside of schoolwork, that are most important to them and stick to those.

• Provide Patience and Guidance – As your child is navigating life and figuring out how to accomplish goals on their own, it is important that you are patient with them. They will make mistakes, there will be missteps and setbacks, and these should all be expected. They are still developing and learning to navigate their world. Give them guidance when they need it and offer suggestions to help them out. Fostering an environment where they can learn and grow will help them to succeed in their future.

Did I miss an important teaching opportunity that you have shared with your children? If so, please share with the community in the comments below.