Back-to-school shopping and executive function

Ready or not, the back-to-school ads have already begun. There are sales on school supplies everywhere. Choose to embrace it and use the annual hunt for school supplies as an opportunity to work on some executive function skills with your child. Model how to be proactive and plan ahead. By getting supplies now, you’ll beat the crazy rush in late August and ensure you get everything your child needs. Also, do some pre-shopping planning. Does your child prefer a binder for each class or one big binder with dividers? How does he want to track his assignments this year? Does he need specific tools for any classes (e.g. a graphing calculator or colored pencils)? By starting the process now, you will save some money, limit end-of-summer stress, and provide real-world executive function practice for your child.