Beginning school is a change for everyone in the family and there are several new tasks to do each weekday, homework to get through, reading and writing and signing permission forms. With all the added responsibility and long list of things to do using gadgets to make anything easier will lower stress and create more free time. Alongside the normal daily tools used for meal prep, packing for an outing, and completing daily tasks, several gadgets are available to make these things much faster, and easier, and streamline daily tasks.

School Related Gadgets

Many new responsibilities come with elementary school, and they will be present for the next several years, but there are some tools and gadgets that can be used to make things a little less stressful. This is an ideal time to get kids into the healthy habits they will need for life including getting up on time and getting ready to go, finishing work on time, taking care of themselves and their belongings, and time management.

A timer, particularly one that rolls to set the timer, can be great for teaching the passing of time and time management. It can be set for a set number of minutes for each activity including getting dressed, brushing teeth, and getting out the door on time. It can also help with homework and winding down activities any time of day.

A day planner is a great tool for planning and using a digital one or an online calendar and even an AI program that creates a schedule based on the tasks entered can show kids how they can manage their time and create a schedule, which is a skill that will serve them well throughout their lives.

Home Gadgets

A home display or a clock or calendar that provides an overview of each day and lists chores or tasks is not only a great gadget for helping kids learn to manage time but also to help the entire household run more smoothly. They are available in many different sizes and styles and can be wall mounted where everyone will be able to see it and access their own schedule every day.   

Several kitchen gadgets are also ready to make meal planning and lunch packing easier. With a fridge that lets you see inside without opening the door, one that has a special door for snacks and drinks that kids can access, or easy cutters and slicers for fruits and vegetables you can help your kids become more independent and foster their creativity and love for cooking. Containers also help to keep food fresh longer, banana and apple savers will protect them in a lunch, and bento boxes offer endless ideas for lunches or meals to go.

Planners and Digital Assistants

Both paper planners and digital planners can help keep a household schedule organized, and these are available in many versions and on several devices. Adding to a digital calendar all of the chores for each day will help kids to easily see the tasks they are supposed to do, and with a smartwatch for kids, such as a Garmin, they can even have alarms and times set for them by you. Set each timer and add their list of daily tasks and they will be able to earn rewards for staying on track.

Digital assistants can be built into many different devices and serve different purposes. For this example, they are used in a calendar app to take the tasks that need to be done and create a schedule from them, adding them to the calendar and syncing to anyone else who is selected. This can help both parents and students to plan activities, share those, coordinate who is driving where and when set aside homework time and announce due dates for projects. Both children and adults can use them once they know how, but younger children will need more support than older ones to enter the information. Smart speakers and other assistant programs will also run timers, announce each morning what needs to be done that day, provide weather for the day, remind of upcoming appointments, add items to shopping lists, play music, and work as an intercom system to speak to others in the house.

Using the updated gadgets and technology can help to arrange the schedules of busy families with elementary school kids, remind all members of the family of tasks and plans, events and activities, and many other details that are required. They can keep kids on task and on time by setting timers and communicating information between the entire family so that fewer things get forgotten or lost in the shuffle of planning and completing tasks. Setting up each part of the day to be completed easily will help each day go well and save time for relaxation and spending time with the children doing things they love.