Back to School:How to Choose a Pencil Case

  

how to Choose a Pencil Case

1

Think about what you need in a pencil case. How big do you need it to be? Gather together the pencils, erasers and pens that you will need to put in there to get an idea of how big you need your pencil case.

2

Go to the store and look at the pencil cases that they have. Look for one that fits your size and needs

3

Choose the color or design that you want. Consider getting one that matches your backpack or your binder!

4

Consider making your own. Find a cloth that you like and sew it into the size and shape that you want.

How to Have Good Morning Routine

How to have good morning routine 

1

Grab your make up, body spray, deodorant, clothing, hair brush, hair-spray, and accessories.

2

Take a shower. Nothing keeps you clean and healthy like a shower does!

3

Apply your deodorant. (it helps to leave it up to 1-2 minutes.)

4

Put on your clothing.

5

Brush your hair, and style it anyway you want. Apply your hair accessories and hair-spray.

6

Put on your make up. For example: mascara, lipstick, eye-shadow, blush, and nail-polish (if allowed) 

7

Spray a bit of body spray, and you are now ready to tackle the day!

Back to School: Tips for Buying a Backpack and Carrying It Safely

Back to School: Tips for Buying a Backpack and Carrying It Safely

What to Buy

• Select a backpack with well-padded shoulder straps to help protect the shoulders and neck. These straps should be adjusted so the pack fits snugly against your child's back. A pack hanging loosely from the back can pull a child backward and strain muscles.
• Select a smaller backpack for your younger child. The backpack itself should be light in weight.
• Consider a pack with a waist belt to help distribute the weight of the pack evenly.
• Consider buying a pack on wheels, similar to the carry-on valise used by airplane travelers. Caution: These carriers are not for everyone, as they are difficult to maneuver in snow, and up and down stairs. Some schools don't allow them.

How to Carry It Safely

• A loaded backpack should weigh between 10 and 15% of a child's body weight, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. For example, a child weighing 100 pounds shouldn't carry more than 15 pounds.
• Help your child learn to carry the pack evenly weighted with straps over each shoulder. Place heavier items, like books, at the bottom and arrange other materials so they won't slide around in the backpack.
• Encourage your child to check the contents daily and leave unnecessary items at home or at school.
• Show your child how to bend at the knees when putting on a backpack. She shouldn't bend over at the waist when wearing or lifting a heavy backpack.
• Help your child learn back-strengthening exercises to build up the muscles required to carry a backpack. A pediatrician, health professional or athletic trainer can suggest some proper exercises.
• Encourage your child or teenager to tell you if he's feeling back or neck pain, and get your pediatrician's advice if he does.

Lighten the Load

Here are some alternatives to help solve the overloaded backpack syndrome. For starters, ditch the pack altogether and try these creative approaches to saving your child's posture and back.

• Help your parent organization raise money for a second set of books for each child, one to keep at home and the other to leave at school. Some schools are already doing this.
• If your child is in middle school or high school, talk to other parents and school officials about the possibility of initiating block scheduling, a system in which classes meet for longer periods on alternating days. That means students take home fewer books.
• Find out if your school is experimenting with an Internet-based curriculum or school materials on CD-ROMs, which can cut down on the use of textbooks. See if there are ways you or other tech-savvy parents can help.

Back to School: Must Have Things

back to school: must have things

Glue sticks (at least three for the year)

Scissors (blunt ended for younger kids, pointed for older ones)

Ballpoint pens

No. 2 pencils (Stick with this classic to avoid classroom competition over whose writing utensil is the coolest — or most impractical.)

Colored pencils

A pencil sharpener (hand-held with a top to collect shavings)

A large pink eraser (The old-fashioned ones do the best erasing.)

Water-based markers

A four-ounce bottle of white glue

Highlighters (These are probably unnecessary for kids in kindergarten through second grade.)

Spiral-bound or composition notebooks

A three-ring binder

Loose-leaf notebook paper (Teachers can be picky about paper. Schools usually supply specially ruled handwriting paper to help younger children with letter formation. Older children use wide-ruled paper, and some middle school students will need the college-ruled variety.)

Pocket folders (If you get a folder with two pockets, label one "keep at home" and the other "bring to school" to help your child organize his papers.)

Printer paper and ink cartridges (for your home computer)

A ruler with English and metric measurements

Scotch tape

A stapler

A sturdy, supportive backpack (Some schools do not permit rolling backpacks because of space considerations, so check with your school before purchasing one.)

Extras for elementary school students

A box of crayons (Get a 16-pack for younger kids, more for older ones.)

Watercolor paints

Drawing paper

Construction paper

A box for storing items (Teachers recommend one that's eight inches long by five inches wide by two inches deep to hold pencils, crayons, erasers, and scissors.)

Extras for middle school students

A calendar for scheduling assignments

Two combination locks (If the school lockers do not have built-in locks, your child might need one for the hallway and one for the gym.)

Binder dividers (The kinds with pockets are good for loose papers.)

Several three-ring binders (Some teachers require that a binder be used exclusively for their class.)

Folders that fit in binders

A small notebook to record assignments

A pencil case that fits in binders

Red-ink pens (Some teachers have students do peer editing.)

Index cards, ruled and unruled (These are great for making flash cards.)

A calculator (Check with the math teacher first before investing in an expensive calculator. Graphing calculators, for example, are required in some middle school math classes. Teachers advise parents not to buy a calculator with more functions than your students will use.)

how to survive middle school part 3: Acing academics

                                                     

1 Pay attention in class. If you want to do well in class, the best place to start is to pay attention! It’s amazing how much your grades will go up if you just pay attention and try to absorb as much information from the lesson as possible. Don’t mess with your phone, try not to daydream, and don’t pass notes with friends. There’s always time for fun stuff later!

2

Take notes. Take notes in class. You don’t have to write down everything that the teacher says: just write down the really important or hard to remember information. Write the sort of stuff you’d say if you were explaining the lesson to someone who wasn’t there. This will help you study for tests later and also do your homework.

3

Do your homework. This is really important for getting decent grades. If you don’t do your homework, you’re almost guaranteed to get bad grades, even if you ace tests and stuff like that. Find some quiet time each evening and just work to get your homework done. Get help if you need it too! Your homework shouldn’t take so much time that you don’t have time to relax too.

.4 Stay organized. Don’t just shove everything in your backpack. This will make you forget about assignments or lose important papers. Instead, have a binder for homework assignments and organize them by when they’re due. Have another binder for class notes, organized by subject.

• Consider getting a planner. You also want to keep your life organized! Get a planner and carefully organize your day. Set aside time for homework, time for hanging out, time for getting ready and eating breakfast in the morning, and everything else you need to do during your day.

5

Don’t procrastinate. Lots of people develop the very bad habit of procrastinating. This means that they don’t do things when they should...they wait until the last minute! This is bad, because it means that when you do things, you’ll do a bad job because you’ll be rushed. It will also make you really stressed. Develop a good habit of doing things at the appropriate time and you’ll save yourself a lot of trouble.

6

Ask questions! This is a great way to make sure you improve your grades. When you don’t understand something, ask! This way you know you’re doing something right. Even if you understand something, it’s good to ask questions if you’re curious about something else. Always ask questions and you’ll find yourself getting smarter and smarter.

7

Study as much as you can. If you really want good grades, you’ll need to study. Read all of the books you are assigned and set aside plenty of time to study. Middle school is an important time to develop good school habits, so getting used to studying now will really help you later.

8

Don’t stress over grades. Don’t worry about getting straight A’s right now. Just focus on learning as much as you can, developing good school habits, and get the best grades you can. No college is ever going to look at your middle school grades and no job is going to care about your middle school A’s. You shouldn’t settle for a C- but you shouldn’t worry about a B or B+.