Erin has struggled with keeping her school things organized since she was in 1st grade. That is when teachers and assistants stopped being the ones packing backpacks. Erin also had a desk in 1st grade. We lovingly now refer to her desks at school as "great Black Holes".
This year has been more difficult for Erin. The kids are given more responsibility for staying organized, and she's just struggling. Back in December, I asked her several times within one week "when is your Virginia History test?" "Dunno mom," was the daily response. I found out on Sunday, when bumping into her teacher that her test had been Friday and she'd done poorly. Not surprising given that she hadn't studied for it at all, and had no idea it was happening. Admittedly this occurred during a busy time for us, and a time when her teacher had been out of school for a week on personal leave.
After Christmas we tried to refocus, but homework papers and test dates continued to be forgotten. It started stressing her out. So much to the point she'd cry for an hour at home if when she realized she'd forgotten her study cards or lost her math homework.
So I went to the great source of all answers (no not Google this time) Facebook. I asked my teacher friends for some organization tips for her. During our 5 day snow break, we came up with some new plans. I created a "Desk Folder" for her where she can put any important papers and homework that is handed out to her. She can do this immediately. As I mentioned once it gets put into her desk, it is lost forever in the great black hole. The rule is also that she leaves the folder on the top of her desk rather than putting it inside. The folder also has a laminated morning/afternoon checklist on it. So each morning she has to check off the things she's supposed to do, same in the afternoon. It's been 2 weeks of school since we started it, and no lost homework yet.
The cooler thing we created was her school bracelet. It's a simple homemade bracelet with several letter beads on it. She wears it every day. Each bead stands for something that she needs to check both morning and afternoon.
H - HomeworkB - Boomerang Folder (this is a folder that is turned into the teacher each morning)
D - Desk Folder
G - Glasses
M - Mailbox
L - Lunchbox
Again, 2 weeks. So far so good. And if she didn't have something she could easily explain -- "Mr. W didn't hand that out today." Or, "No math homework this week."
I'm crossing my fingers that this helps her out in the long run. That it limits her stress about lost homework and therefore allows her to relax and be more prepared when it comes to taking tests. Right now if she can keep focused for the next week, I think she'll find herself with a little mommy/daughter treat to get her nails done.
