9 Ways to Assist your Child in Organizing their School Life

Since school has started I thought parents could benefit from this.

If you could get your child to remember where they put things, life would be easier. There would be less tears and frustration. So let's begin our organizing quest.

1. Have a spot near your front door or in your child's room where their school backpack needs to be. Once homework is done, it's to go directly inside their backpack unless you need to check it first. If you have a forgetful child or a highly distracted one, have them double check their backpack to make sure their homework is indeed there. Make sure all books that need to go back to school are there as well. In general, double checking is good thing for all children to do. Sometimes children take out a piece of homework or a book and forget to put it back.

2. If mornings are a rush for you, you or your child can fix their lunch the night before. (Remember to refrigerate the lunch if it contains perishable foods.) Your child can also lay out the clothes they plan to wear the next day the night before.

3. Use a monthly calendar which it's only purpose is, is to show when things are due. You can X off any day when an assignment is turned in. You can have one calendar for home and a small one for school.

4. The school desk. Keep track of books by putting together books with similar themes. Such as, all library books go together, all math books go together, the history text book and work book go together, etc. If your child uses book covers use the same color for the text book and its corresponding work book to identify them. Have an organizer bag for pens and pencils. Another bag for markers. Get a separate box for the ruler, erasers, liquid eraser, etc. If everything goes in one bag or box, things won't be as easy to find. Plus, things tend to get messy being in only one container.

5. School note taking. Notes for each subject should be written down on its own piece of paper. If notes for six subjects are squeezed together on two sheets of paper it's not easy to locate what you're looking for. Plus, if each class subject has its own paper it can be easily organized in its own subject folder. Write the name of the subject on the subject folder so it can easily be found in a binder. Each subject folder can have its own color. All folders should go in a binder so they don't get lost. The homework folder should be in front, so your child remembers to turn in assignments. The daily homework assignments can be written on one paper so your child remembers to do all their homework. Do not let your child scribble their homework assignment on a small scrap of paper. If the scrap of paper is mislaid, well, they’re up a creek without a paddle unless they can get a hold of a friend to tell them about the homework. But they might forget, since the scrap of paper is gone.

6. When the teacher is giving information to be taken down your child should underline, star, or highlight key words for better reference. When writing down homework it is beneficial to underline or highlight important due dates, projects, or assignments. The following is helpful for young children who frequently lose weekly or bi-weekly homework assignment sheets. If you have a photocopier at home, or a FAX with photocopier, make a copy of the assignment sheet the day you get it. And know the day it should come home! For children who habitually forget to turn in assignments: Have them write down on two stick-its the homework that needs to be turned in the next day. Place one stick-it on the related text book or work book and the other on the front of their binder.

7. Some children are so disorganized that the use of colored tabs can really help. I remember using my own lazy girl tabs. I used random wrappers as page markers for many things, such as, quotes I wanted to use for book reports. The problem was I had no idea if it was the granola wrapper or lunch bag scrap that was meant for a certain quote. That's where stick-it tabs that you can write on come in handy. Tabs can be used for quick references. You place the back of the tab where it's sticky on book pages. They can easily mark where certain homework answers are, mark passages to refer back to, separate homework section due dates, etc. Also, a stick-it (as well as bookmarker) is a great way to quickly find where you left off reading or doing homework.

8. Does your child forget where they put their sweater or lunch box at school? Children should always try to put their lunch bag and sweater in the same spot at school so they can remember where they are. On the same peg in the closet and on the same spot on the lunch bench. But they shouldn't get upset if they can't get the same spot. If they can recall that they normally put an item to the left side or right side of an area that will help. To lessen the loss of sweaters and jackets put your child's name inside all labels. Then if a sweater is lost and someone finds it, it will be identified as your child's. As for bringing the wrong back pack and/or lunch bag home because it looks like another students do these two things: #1, Get a piece of colored string and wrap it around the handle of the lunch bag/box. For the backpack, get an identifying key chain and clip it to a zipper. #2, With a marker write your child's name inside the lunch bag and backpack so there can be no mistaking it is your child's. If you prefer not to do this, get some masking tape and write your child's name on a piece of tape and place it inside the lunch bag and backpack.

9. If your child keeps losing their lunch box you can start using lunch bags with their name on them. For parents in morning rushes: At another time quickly write your child's name on twenty lunch bags. By doing this you will have one less thing that you need to remember to do. If you're tired of lost school books write your child's name in them. But only if you're allowed. If you can’t do this, make or buy a book cover for each book. (To cheaply make book covers use paper grocery bags. Remember to use the inside of the bag as the outside of the book cover.) Put your child's name on the book cover. This will identify the book as your child's. Plus, it will keep the book clean. The following is a great idea for school library books which seem to mysteriously get mislaid. Buy or make bookmarkers, then write your child's name on them. Your child should use one as they read. At least then if the book gets lost someone might see the bookmarker and return the book to your child.

Movie Review

Movie Title: Fancy Pants. Comedy. Rated G. This Bob Hope vehicle was borrowed, loosely, by a book written by Harry Wilson. (It's as if someone read the book and thought, "This would make a good movie for Bob Hope.") Mr. Hope does a fine job as a bumbling actor pretending to be a butler who later pretends to be an Earl. The havoc that ensues is pure Bob Hope comedy. The movie also stars Lucille Ball from the popular "I Love Lucy" television series. Kids will enjoy the scene when a rival for Ms. Ball's affections rubs Mr. Hope's coat with gravy so dogs will chase him. The dogs chase him all over town. At one point in the movie a song is sung in the kitchen about home cooking which is catchy, but not as catchy as the one Hope sings about buttons and bows from "The Paleface."

Book Review

From We Both Read. This is an excellent series of books for new readers. It gets parents involved in reading with their child. The parent reads one side of the book, their child the other. They have lots of hard and soft back books to choice from. They also have books in Spanish. I've seen We Both Read books in numerous libraries. You can buy them at some books stores and online. A friend of mine and her children loved reading these books when her kids were younger.

For grades one and two (For most kids I feel it's a grade one book, and early part of grade two): "The Tales of Peter Rabbit & Benjamin Bunny." By Beatrix Potter. Adapted by Sindy McKay. There are two stories in this book. The first one is "The Tale of Peter Rabbit." Who couldn't like a cute little bunny who wears a blue jacket? But Peter is a naughty bunny. Against his mother's explicit orders he sneaks into Mr. McGregor's garden to find some tasty vegetables to eat. He loses his blue jacket while escaping from old Mr. McGregor. In "The Tale of Benjamin Bunny" Peter's cousin Benjamin helps Peter gets his jacket back from Mr. McGregor's garden.

The colored illustrations by Beatrix Potter are beautifully drawn. They capture the essence of what is occurring on the page. The stories are exciting enough for new readers to want to keep reading. This is what you should look for in a book for your child. A boring book does not entice your child to read.

Parenting Tip

Parenting Tip: Don't let your baby or toddler play with newspaper. The ink from it can get on their hands and then they could put their hands in their mouth.

Happy Labor Day!

Parenting Article Impulsive Behavior Part 2

Strategies to Reduce Impulsive Behavior for Better Social Interaction

In Part I, I discussed some methods to reduce impulsive behavior in school age children. Here in Part II, I give more ways to deal with impulsive behavior.

1) You should explain to your child that when they're upset with a person or a situation they need use their words, but in a suitable manner. Instead of shoving a friend or yelling, "I hate you!" when their friend won't share, they should say, "It upsets me a lot you can't share." The first statement, "I hate you!" will alienate friends and potential friends. The second statement points out the problem so it can be resolved. Even if it can't be at that moment they haven't pushed away the friend. They are just stating their feelings. Make sure you point out to your child, would they like it if their friend shoved them or said I hate you? By asking this question you're getting your child to think about the situation so they can rethink what they did. You're also teaching them about feelings. If hearing "I hate you" from a friend would make them feel upset, than their friend most probably wouldn't want to hear it either.

2) Some children benefit from having a 3 Step Plan to fall back on when they're having an uncontrollable impulse. The 3 Step Plan can be as simple as, #1- Stop, #2- Take a breath, #3- Rethink what you are doing. It can be SBR for short. Once your son or daughter starts getting upset with another child they should quickly think SBR and do it. The 3 Step Plan will help them refocus. Your child can have another 3 Step Plan. This one can be for solving an argument with a friend. #1- Calm down, #2- Talk it through, #3- Try to make things better. CTB for short. I suggest not having more than two 3 Step Plans or it might be confusing. During the heat of the moment you want your child to be thinking of the 3 Step Plan, not "What is the right plan I'm suppose to use again?" If they can't recall it, they won't be able to apply it.

3) Use a monthly calendar, with the sole purpose of showing positive behavior. A star sticker can be placed on every day your child demonstrates positive behavior. Such as, they don't shout out something mean to anyone at home and at school; they keep their hands to themselves; or they solve a problem with a classmate in the correct manner. Seven stars can equal extra time reading at night or something else your child likes. The star chart is meant to motivate your child to make better behavioral decisions. If you know they're trying, recognize the effort. When you see your child socializing properly with their peers acknowledge it with praise right then and there. It will reinforce positive behavior.

4) If your child has hurt a friend teach them how to make things better. Saying they're sorry is a start, but after the fifth "I'm sorry," your child might not have a friend anymore. If your child is comfortable with this, have your child tell their friend, "Sometimes I do things without thinking and I hurt others. But I'm working on it. I still would like to be your friend. Maybe you can help me by _________." Fill in the blank with what your child thinks would help. I've seen this work, more than once. Some children like knowing they are helping others. They will take a child under their wing. But your child really has to work at the friendship and not keep hitting or yelling. If your child's friend sees improvement the friendship has a chance. The bonus is other kids will see the improvement too.

Book Review

Book Review. "Can't You Make Them Behave, King George?" by Jean Fritz. Pictures by Tomiede Paola. Both my nephews and I really liked this book. In general: For third to fifth graders. The book is short, 48 pages, but well worth a read. Jean Fritz makes reading about history enjoyable. This book is easy to read and has fun, interesting facts about King George. It gives King George's perspective of the American Revolution. An excellent children's book.

Movie Pick

Movie Title: The Bad News Bears. Comedy. Rated PG (some cussing). Oh, how I loved the original film as a kid. Cantankerous Mr. Buttermaker (Walter Matthau) ends up being the little-league coach to a bunch of boys who aren't the most athletically inclined. (There are some funny scenes with the boys missing the ball.) Wanting to end his losing streak, Mr. Buttermaker finds two ball players who can play: A girl named Amanda (who is an A one pitcher) and the rebel, Kelly. Note: I saw the updated version of this film and I wasn't impressed.