Executive Functioning Skill Development
Highlight Topic: Time Management
What It Is:
The ability to plan, prioritize, and use time effectively to complete tasks.
Tips for Teens:
- Use one consistent planner - digital or paper
- Plan your week every Sunday (choose a block of time like 8 am - 10 am)
- Break large assignments into smaller steps with mini-deadlines.
- Place a star or highlight items that are a priority
Tips for Parents/Guardians:
- Avoid rescuing at the last minute — let natural consequences teach planning.
- Ask guiding questions instead of giving answers:
“What’s your plan for finishing that project?” - Help them map out big projects visually on a calendar.
- Model good time management in your own routines.
Checklist for High School Seniors Who are Graduating
Post Secondary Plan
Post Secondary Plan
Post Secondary Plan
Make sure you have a plan and at least 2-3 options.
AI Era
Post Secondary Plan
Post Secondary Plan
AI technology is quickly shifting everything.
Do your research before making a final decision to how it will be impacted by AI
Skills Upgrade
Post Secondary Plan
Every transition will require new skills.
Consider what skills you have as well as what you need as you step into your next.
Connections
Maintain the healthy connections with those professionals that have helped you to this point.
This new real-world experience you are embarking on, will require support.
Learn before you Leap
Learn before you Leap
Before making important decisions, do your research.
Learn as much as you can from multiple sources to ensure you have all the facts to make a wise decision.
Character
Learn before you Leap
Traits like kindness, patience, positivity, flexibility, communication, confidentiality, empathy, resilience are so valuable and will make you HIGHLY valuable.
Highlights for Parents & High School Seniors
- Take care of your mental and physical health. Get enough sleep, eat nutritious meals regularly, stay active, and talk to a trusting and qualified person when you are feeling stressed.
- Stay on top of graduation requirements. Make sure you are checking credits, grades, and connecting with teachers when you miss school. Use a planner or phone reminder.
- Continue to build real-life skill like basic cooking, cleaning, and making appointments. Practice budgeting skills, time-management, and protecting passwords,
Self-Esteem and Confidence
Here are some great articles on self-esteem.
https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/self-esteem.html
https://childmind.org/article/12-tips-raising-confident-kids/
5 Skills 8th Graders Need Going into High School
1. Purpose/Focus
Parents and guardians, before your child enters into high school, remind them how important this time is. High school is the time to:
A. Identify what they want to do after high school
B. Build skills
C. Participate in programs, internships, and educational trips, and activities
2. Self-Care
Your body has to stay as healthy as possible as MUCH as possible! This means:
A. Nutrition
B. Required amount of daily water intake
C. Exercise
D. Sleep & Rest
These are just a few self-care needs!
3. Core Skills
Ask your elementary school teacher to share your core skill levels with you as well as your parent or guardian. If this is not at the proper level, it may be difficult to manage high school level work.
Your Core skills include:
A. Reading and comprehension
B. Writing skills
C. Speaking
D. Basic math
4. Communication Skills
High school is a platform, where you are expected to express what type of support or resources you require to be successful. It is a new level where you take on more responsibility for your needs and must advocate for yourself when you can.
Here are some reasons when you will need to communicate:
1. If you miss school and need the make-up work
2. If you are not feeling well and need to see the nurse
3. If you want extra credit work to increase your grade
5. Emotional Resilience
High school can feel overwhelming at times...both socially and academically. The ability to have confidence and cope are just as important as their academic ability.
Here are some examples:
1. Identifying what they feel and why
2. Handling setbacks without giving up
3. Managing stress
Improve Your Reading Skills
US middle and high school reading stats from the federal Nation's Report Card (.gov) (NAEP)
Check out reading statistics Proficiency: Over 60% of 12th graders scored below proficient in past assessments, showing flat performance over time.
Parents/Guardians...here are a few tips to help your child increase in their reading skill:
1. Help them choose a few topics they'd like to read about.
2. Set time aside each week for reading and discussion.
3. Break the reading into small sections.
4. Help them examine the main idea and summarize what they've read.
5. Write down vocabulary words and use them in sentences or conversations.
