It never ceases to amaze me...the things we take for granted, including the skills teachers assume students have mastered, so don't teach them. Organization ranks high on that list. One of my favorite things a colleague and I did with our students was to host a "Friday Dump Day" each week. We required certain students to attend, including the ones who forgot their work that week or had ripped papers sticking out of their notebooks and backpacks. We extended an open invitation to their peers as well. Many guests joined us, and not one student complained about it once we got rolling. I encourage parents to do the same thing: Friday Dump Day! Add M&Ms and your child's favorite music to the mix and you've got a fun Dump Day Party. The materials required are:
1. A laundry basket. I prefer the plastic rectangular ones with holes in them. The ones that are about 3 feet long and 2 feet high.
2. Scotch Tape (for any papers that may have ripped in your child's backpack).
3. A trash can or trash bag
4. Your child's backpack; extra school notebooks that might be lying around his or her room; and the papers crumpled up in his or her pockets (pant pockets and jacket pockets).
Then, all your child needs to do (with you at his/her side) is:
1. DUMP! Open up that backpack, and dump everything into the laundry basket. Take all the wadded up pieces of paper in the pockets, and dump those into the laundry basket as well. Have fun with this part.
The next step is the organizing part. If the music is not on yet, turn it on. Then take out each piece of paper one by one. De-crumple the wads of paper that were stuck in the bottom of the backpack, tape the ripped handouts and notes, and start placing them into piles. Possible piles include:
1. Piles by content area (e.g. a math pile, a science pile, a Language Arts/English pile)
2. A Completed/To-Turn-In pile
3. A Question-Mark pile
4. The Trash Can
Next, put the what's-needed stuff back into the backpack....clean & tidy!
Remember, your child needs (and deserves) your guidance. Gradually, you can wean yourself out of the role of "Dump Day Assistant." But please just be careful. Organizing one's notebook (let alone life!) is not something kids are hard-wired to do. It's not a skill that they learn how to do overnight, nor a skill that has been beamed down to them from some Superhero Counselor.
There's lots of ways to make Friday Dump Day fun...and quick (or at least to have it take less and less time each week). Use a Time Timer, an ingenious visual tool for the passage of time. Chart how long it takes each week, and let your child choose his/her reward when the two of you reach a certain goal. Listen to music. Decorate the laundry basket so it has a bit more "personality." Whatever it is you want to do....just Dump!
1. A laundry basket. I prefer the plastic rectangular ones with holes in them. The ones that are about 3 feet long and 2 feet high.
2. Scotch Tape (for any papers that may have ripped in your child's backpack).
3. A trash can or trash bag
4. Your child's backpack; extra school notebooks that might be lying around his or her room; and the papers crumpled up in his or her pockets (pant pockets and jacket pockets).
Then, all your child needs to do (with you at his/her side) is:
1. DUMP! Open up that backpack, and dump everything into the laundry basket. Take all the wadded up pieces of paper in the pockets, and dump those into the laundry basket as well. Have fun with this part.
The next step is the organizing part. If the music is not on yet, turn it on. Then take out each piece of paper one by one. De-crumple the wads of paper that were stuck in the bottom of the backpack, tape the ripped handouts and notes, and start placing them into piles. Possible piles include:
1. Piles by content area (e.g. a math pile, a science pile, a Language Arts/English pile)
2. A Completed/To-Turn-In pile
3. A Question-Mark pile
4. The Trash Can
Next, put the what's-needed stuff back into the backpack....clean & tidy!
Remember, your child needs (and deserves) your guidance. Gradually, you can wean yourself out of the role of "Dump Day Assistant." But please just be careful. Organizing one's notebook (let alone life!) is not something kids are hard-wired to do. It's not a skill that they learn how to do overnight, nor a skill that has been beamed down to them from some Superhero Counselor.
There's lots of ways to make Friday Dump Day fun...and quick (or at least to have it take less and less time each week). Use a Time Timer, an ingenious visual tool for the passage of time. Chart how long it takes each week, and let your child choose his/her reward when the two of you reach a certain goal. Listen to music. Decorate the laundry basket so it has a bit more "personality." Whatever it is you want to do....just Dump!