How Building Planning Skills can Help Your Child at School

Planning is an important part of our children’s life at school and at home. Academically, planning plays a key role in educational advancement, as it facilitates the setting of strategies, prioritization of actions, and development of step-by-step processes for accomplishing goals. School-related tasks such as writing an essay, conducting research, and presenting a final project all depend greatly on a student’s ability to prioritize and logically sequence tasks. Outside of class, planning skills are needed for social activities such as setting up practice for a sports team, planning a get together with friends, and extending invitations to peers for a play date or party.

Kids with underdeveloped Planning skills commonly encounter problems in step-by-step processes, and tend to jump into activities without reading the directions, complete their homework at the last minute, and can be overly absorbed in the present moment.

Children with good Planning skill are able to combine school and social activities without getting overwhelmed by stress, and tend to be good at scheduling activities, anticipating the tools necessary to successfully complete a task, and prioritizing their activities effectively.

Below, you’ll find some common ways planning skills impact learning in the three key academic subject — reading, writing and math.