Beyond Folders : back to school, Organization tools

Tips for A Great School Year

Community Manager — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 16:40:00 GMT

New notebooks, check. Backpack, check. Refusing to over schedule...a work in progress. Smart parents know the back-to-school checklist should include more than just school supplies. Create the framework for a successful school year with the following checklist.

Great Expectations: Sit down with your students and discuss your expectations for the school year. Clearly tell your kids that you expect them to be polite, conscientious students. Don't assume your child knows what type of behavior you expect, tell them directly.

Open Lines of Communication: Reach out to your children's teacher rather than waiting to hear from them. Introduce yourself via e-mail and let the teacher know the best way to get in touch during the school year. Reaching out signals that you are an involved, approachable parent who is willing to act as a partner in a student's education.

Organizing 101: Teach your children to organize their workspace and calendar for greater productivity and less stress. Organization is easy with these simple steps.

Family, It's What's for Dinner: Students who eat with their family regularly have better health, grades and lower rates of troublesome behavior such as teen drinking and smoking. Put family dinners first as often as your schedule permits.

Say No to Over Scheduling: Put the brakes on extracurriculars or social engagements that get in the way of downtime and family time. Overextended and stressed out students and parents is becoming an epidemic: ward off the ill-effects of a schedule in overdrive by just saying no.

Read Together: Reading fosters a love of learning and improves vocabulary; it is also a wonderful way to nurture deep connection between parents and children. Often parents stop reading to their children once they can read on their own. But parents can read to willing children for years. Pick books that are challenging or that focus on a shared interest: reading it together pushes children outside of their comfort zone. Consider forming a parent/child book group with a group of friends.

Finally, smart parents model a positive attitude to school and learning. Share stories from your own education; let your children see you continue to try to learn new things, be it a sport, a recipe or a new language. Being a life-long learner is enjoyable and presents a positive role model for your children.

Top 10 Back-to-School Products for Tweens and Up

Community Manager — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 12:32:00 GMT

1. Livescribe Pen: Write your class notes while recording what you miss with digital recorder pens. How cool is that? Be sure to ask your teacher's permission before recording.

2. Alarms: Forget your parent's snooze button. There's a battery of creative alarm clocks on the market these days: opt for a fire alarm ring, clocks that talk and even one sporting wheels to roll away from attempts to hit the snooze button.

3. Power Strips: Multi-gadget kids need a surge protecting power cord to keep the juice flowing safely. Check out the Pivot Power, a flexible strip that lets users opt for different configurations, easily pivoting cords around furniture and hard to reach spots.

4. Laptock Locks: Combo locks aren't just for lockers; make use laptop locks to tether your computer to a desk when you duck out of the library.

5. iPad: A multitasking master: read eBooks, stream music, take notes and pictures; organize class and activity schedules with time management apps. Anything else? Oh, right, studying.

6. iPad Accessories: Trick out your iPad with accessories like headphones, eye-catching cases and our favorite, the Padfoot, which holds the tablet in a variety of positions including upright for better viewing and slightly lifted for easier typing.

7. USB Flash Drives: Store digital materials including presentations, notes and pictures on portable flash drives.

8. Laptop Bags: Many bags now come with laptop and cell phone pockets. Also, solar-powered backpacks, yes, you read that right, allow you to tap into Mother Nature to recharge devices in between classes with a solar power backpack.

9. Lunch Pack: Encourage healthy eating by sending your child off to school with a homemade lunch. A wide range of stylish lunch totes, including Japanese-style bento boxes and insulated lunch totes, puts a fresh face on brown-bagging it.

10. Smart Phone: For many tweens, the first phone is a major rite of passage. Be sure to set parameters for use and keep an eye on texting. Family-plans can help manage usage while allowing parents to keep an eye on their child.

Top 10 Ways to Keep Your Kids Organized

Community Manager — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 12:28:00 GMT

Back-to-school shopping catalogs are flooding the mailbox. Time to think about getting the kids organized for school and the fall sports season. Smart parents keep busy households organized with these top ten tips.

1. Designate a Drop Spot: Backpacks and sports gear can easily engulf a home; designate a convenient drop spot for off-loading when the kids arrive home. Nothing fancy is needed: a simple hall bench, set of cubbies or even wall hooks can do the trick.

2. Kitchen Command Center: Deputize a bulletin board or white board to track all family commitments, sports schedules and major tests and projects. The shared schedule lets all family members see major events at a glance.

3. Calendar Smarts: Teach your children to maintain their own calendar to practice optimum time-management. Even the very youngest students can be taught how to chart tasks on a calendar. Talk about how to assess how long a task will take and allocating sufficient time for completion.

4. Designate Study Time: Get your children in the study habit by designating a specific block of time for homework each day. Encourage children not to race through work, but instead to proceed slowly and methodically, leaving time for proofing.

5. Checklists: Encourage your child to use checklists to prioritize tasks and keep track of each item's status. Crossing off items on a to-do list provides a sense of accomplishment.

6. Quiet Zone: Find a quiet area for students to do their work. An interruption-free zone enhances focus and productivity.

7. Homework Caddy: Set each child up with a portable homework caddy with must-have tools such as pencils, pens, erasers, stapler, etc. Keeping study tools close at hand will prevent students from wandering off in search of needed items.

8. Backup Supplies: Keep a supply of notebooks, binders, report covers, poster board, glue and markers and crayons on hand during the school year. You'll be glad to have a ready supply when a child inevitably announces late in the evening they are missing X item for a project due tomorrow.

9. A Look Ahead: Get in the habit of spending the end of the day planning for the next morning. By taking just 15 minutes to round up school supplies, paperwork and special items such as rain boots and umbrellas, you can stave off the stress that often adds to the morning rush.

10. Weekly Clean Ups: Keep chaos at bay with weekly clean-ups. Update the family command center calendar, restore missing items to their rightful place and restock school supplies that are running low. Revisit your children's personal planners or calendars and provide feedback on how they managed their schedules and workloads for the week. Praise successes and offer suggestions for improvement where necessary.