Get your middle schooler organized with tips from this post sponsored by Walmart Photo

Back to school this year is different than we’ve ever seen it. Instead of gathering supplies and filling a backpack so that our kids can go to school, we’re turning bedrooms into classrooms. For my daughter who is going into middle school, that meant that we had to do a little organizing to make it conducive to her learning.

We’re already discovering that middle school is a whole different ballgame. Even if we weren’t in the middle of shelter-in-place, the way we organized Ayva’s learning last year was going to have to be stepped up.

This is the first year she’s “switching classes” and has a lot more subjects to keep up with.

Regardless of the circumstances of back-to-school, I wanted to make sure my tween was set up for success. She and I sat down together to figure out what she needed to do well in school this year.

We determined that the thing she’d most need support with is keeping up with all of the things she has to do from schoolwork to her extra curricular activities. 

We designed a couple of tools that would help, and went to Walmart Photo to get them printed.

Minimize Distractions 

The first thing we did to get Ayva organized for middle school was to minimize the distractions in her bedroom.

She had tons of pictures and posters up all around, but we realized that would be overstimulating with her being at her desk all day. 

We took most of the posters down so we could make room for the poster and calendar we made for her from Walmart Photo.

As soon as we cleared the walls, she said that it made it seem like room had more space. I knew that would help her focus!

Go with an old school calendar

We live in a digital world, for sure, and there are several ways Ayva uses technology to keep up with important dates. There’s just something about writing a date with a pen on a calendar that just makes it stick for me, though. 

Every year, since Ayva first started school, we get her a new calendar to keep track of dates. This year, we made a personalized wall calendar at Walmart Photo.

The calendar was super easy to make. I was able to pick it up just a few hours after we made it. We uploaded pictures to the Walmart Photo site (I love that we were able to grab them from Google Photos through the Walmart Photo app), and picked the theme from one of their many templates.

The entire process took us just about 30 minutes and only because we couldn’t decide which pictures we wanted to use!

Try an old school wall calendar to help your middle schooler stay organized in an analog way. I promise it’ll make a difference. 

Make a To-do List

I asked Ayva what she thought the biggest challenge of middle school would be. She said keeping up with everything. Productivity is my jam and I know that not everyone can function from a list.

Because I know my daughter, I came up with the idea of a to-do board. Instead of a straight list that forces her brain to think in a linear way, this board allows her to jot things down on scraps of paper as she thinks of them.

She sticks the tasks on the board and has a visual of what needs to be done.

She also gets to physically pull her task down off the board and toss it when she’s done. There’s a level of satisfaction in that action that empowers her to get more done! 

I also printed the foam poster at Walmart Photo, and used one of their templates as the guide. The board was ready to be picked up about two hours after I ordered it.

Adding affirmations that Ayva can see whenever she looks at it is a small way to support her self-esteem.

This is not a normal school year

Whatever you do, remember that our kids are dealing with a very challenging situation. This isn’t a normal school year by any stretch of the imagination.

Make sure you let your middle schooler know how proud of them you are, and keep them motivated. Taking time to help them get organized is one of the easiest ways to do that. 

About walmart Photo Same Day

It doesn’t matter what kind of organization idea you have, Walmart Photo can help you execute. You don’t even have to be super crafty because they have hundreds of templates for you to choose from.

Whether you need same day prints of your favorite pictures, a foam board or wall calendar like I made to get Ayva organized, or tons of other options, you can have an idea, create it online or on the Walmart Photo app and pick up your creation in just a few hours!