On organizing
In the world of blackberry’s and computers the idea of a countertop recipe box might seem a bit out of place, a kitchen counter top index card filing cabinet of
*Friends Numbers and Addresses
*Addresses, dates and location of Sports Classes
*Pharmacy Number and address
*You are on the phone with your doctor to call in a prescription and he asked the name and number of your pharmacy. At the same time you want to tell someone to go there in 20 minutes to pick something up. Can you do all these things at the same time on your phone?
*You forget exactly on what street that soccer class is on and you have to tell someone 75th? Or 76th? Street.
*Your children want playdates, they can read, but we can’t expect them to have their friends numbers call them up and schedule in their calendars these playdates?
Prepare for September:
Peel and Stick Labels of your class lists can be printed. Then Peel and stick your children’s friends onto an index card and use the back to write phone numbers. Your children can pull out the index cards and hand you the people he needs you to contact.
Pre pare for Summer Classes:
When you confirm a class for your child in New York write the dates the program starts and ENDS and the location of where the class is taking place. Write a phone number for booking any makeup’s and the address. Write the “shirt color is any” for the uniform as a reminder.
Prepare for Deliveries, Services,Docters:
Prepare index cards for necessarily for yourself (though you don’t always have your blackberry in the kitchen, do you?)
Organize Today
Save Time Later
Become more Efficient
Feel better about yourself
Showing posts with label on organizing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label on organizing. Show all posts
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
On allowances
On Allowances
People ask me all the time what I think about allowances. I understand that children need money. The simple fact is that I don’t believe in giving away money for no reason.
I created a transportation box where I keep singles inside. If someone needs to get to school early (like the thirteen year old or the twelve year old) and it’s raining and they can’t walk or ride their bike...they can take the transportation money and they have to leave a note of how much they took and their name.
If someone needs money for school supplies, Friday lunch because they are staying late, or such I am happy to help out! We are family! It’s what we do!
But if someone wants to buy a play station game, well that's money that they need to earn, and they earn that money by doing jobs which they earn points for. The point’s equal dollars and they can turn in their points for purchases whenever they want! (Actually now we hold some points back for those who have a tendency to break other people’s important and valuable items while not asking for permission to use them).
An allowance for no reason.....just doesn't sit right with me when earning money if a great opportunity to offer a child a chance to earn for themselves. To believe in themselves, to reach a goal for themselves, to value how hard they worked for their points and care more about how they are going to spend their money.
Knowing that every child is not motivated the same way, our family offers a lot of opportunities to earn points easily.....Points are offered up for kindness, my children traded points this week to bring pennies for peace to school, points that are offered in contests, points that are traded in for a EARTH DAY project and tree planting.
I am proud of my children as they earn points and make purchases!
People ask me all the time what I think about allowances. I understand that children need money. The simple fact is that I don’t believe in giving away money for no reason.
I created a transportation box where I keep singles inside. If someone needs to get to school early (like the thirteen year old or the twelve year old) and it’s raining and they can’t walk or ride their bike...they can take the transportation money and they have to leave a note of how much they took and their name.
If someone needs money for school supplies, Friday lunch because they are staying late, or such I am happy to help out! We are family! It’s what we do!
But if someone wants to buy a play station game, well that's money that they need to earn, and they earn that money by doing jobs which they earn points for. The point’s equal dollars and they can turn in their points for purchases whenever they want! (Actually now we hold some points back for those who have a tendency to break other people’s important and valuable items while not asking for permission to use them).
An allowance for no reason.....just doesn't sit right with me when earning money if a great opportunity to offer a child a chance to earn for themselves. To believe in themselves, to reach a goal for themselves, to value how hard they worked for their points and care more about how they are going to spend their money.
Knowing that every child is not motivated the same way, our family offers a lot of opportunities to earn points easily.....Points are offered up for kindness, my children traded points this week to bring pennies for peace to school, points that are offered in contests, points that are traded in for a EARTH DAY project and tree planting.
I am proud of my children as they earn points and make purchases!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
On organizing Medical Records
On Organizing Children’s Medical Records
Most people don’t think to start organizing an area of their family life because they haven’t already taken any preparatory steps. It’s amazing that once you start something how wonderfully it begins to fall in to place. For most of the portion of their lives , our children will have to organize: their backpacks, homework, folders, binders, books, rooms, drawers, clothes, and so the list continues. Now, how can they learn unless they see us organize aspects of our own lives?
Show your kids your new “Child Medical Record Book.” This starts with a simple, large loose-leaf binder for each of the children with their name on the front. I then fill each binder with sheet protectors and put them away on the shelf. Upi can go into your baby books if you have them and make copies of stuff, you can Photostat their birth certificates to start with !
If you take one of your children to the dentist to have a cavity filled, it is usual to be presented with both a receipt and form showing a picture of the child’s mouth, highlighting the tooth that had the filling. If you make a copy of this form (you may need the original for insurance purposes), and slip it into the relevant child’s binder, you now have a record of which teeth in your child’s mouth have fillings, which have been pulled, which are impacted, and so on. This binder will eventually become a complete collection of your child’s medical records.The camp forms that the doctor has to complete at this time of year make a perfect first entry!
If you don’t have any camp forms, - just begin with a School Admission/Admittance Medical Records Form. Enjoy your organizing and feel great about doing something good !
Most people don’t think to start organizing an area of their family life because they haven’t already taken any preparatory steps. It’s amazing that once you start something how wonderfully it begins to fall in to place. For most of the portion of their lives , our children will have to organize: their backpacks, homework, folders, binders, books, rooms, drawers, clothes, and so the list continues. Now, how can they learn unless they see us organize aspects of our own lives?
Show your kids your new “Child Medical Record Book.” This starts with a simple, large loose-leaf binder for each of the children with their name on the front. I then fill each binder with sheet protectors and put them away on the shelf. Upi can go into your baby books if you have them and make copies of stuff, you can Photostat their birth certificates to start with !
If you take one of your children to the dentist to have a cavity filled, it is usual to be presented with both a receipt and form showing a picture of the child’s mouth, highlighting the tooth that had the filling. If you make a copy of this form (you may need the original for insurance purposes), and slip it into the relevant child’s binder, you now have a record of which teeth in your child’s mouth have fillings, which have been pulled, which are impacted, and so on. This binder will eventually become a complete collection of your child’s medical records.The camp forms that the doctor has to complete at this time of year make a perfect first entry!
If you don’t have any camp forms, - just begin with a School Admission/Admittance Medical Records Form. Enjoy your organizing and feel great about doing something good !
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
on CHARTS
There are occassions when I go away without the children.
There are occassions when I take the younger children first away on a vacation
and the older children, who can not miss any school, meet us there. There are times when
school vacations of one child doesnt match that of another child, in a nursery schoool or upper school.
There are several charts that we have to make up for this type of organization.
The first chart is the DAILY CHART. Here I type on one piece of paper each
day, who has been hired to help, and the basic responsibilities, down to the simpliest point
I tape this paper onto a poster board and hang it in a central location. Under this paper are envelopes which could be pay envelopes fo guitar, or piano lessons that are still going on while we are away...or envelopes filled with estimated dollar amounts for food to be ordered or replinished.
7:00am Dad wakes up the kids
7:30am Someone will come in and will help with breakfast for kids.
7:50am Dad leaves the house with kids and drops them off at school
3:00pm 12 year old is going home with his friend and leave the number
of his friend and leave the plan on how he is getting home
and so on.
The second chart is MEALS. I make sure that money envelopes are
left labeled Milk, Eggs, Cereals, Fruit that might run out and can be
replaced.
I chart out each evening what is happening for dinner, if meals are prepared in the refrigerated and labeled to be re-heated or if the evening plan is to have the caretaker order food from a local take out restaurant or is Dad going to take kids out to dinner.
I leave envelopes labels CHINESE FOOD TUESDAY with the chinese food number and money in envelope to pay for the food. I expect the caregiver who is responsible to leave receipts and change in each envelope for each night.
Another chart is the CONTACT chart. This is a list of emergency contact numbers
of friends in the area who will be home incase of emergency!
There are occassions when I take the younger children first away on a vacation
and the older children, who can not miss any school, meet us there. There are times when
school vacations of one child doesnt match that of another child, in a nursery schoool or upper school.
There are several charts that we have to make up for this type of organization.
The first chart is the DAILY CHART. Here I type on one piece of paper each
day, who has been hired to help, and the basic responsibilities, down to the simpliest point
I tape this paper onto a poster board and hang it in a central location. Under this paper are envelopes which could be pay envelopes fo guitar, or piano lessons that are still going on while we are away...or envelopes filled with estimated dollar amounts for food to be ordered or replinished.
7:00am Dad wakes up the kids
7:30am Someone will come in and will help with breakfast for kids.
7:50am Dad leaves the house with kids and drops them off at school
3:00pm 12 year old is going home with his friend and leave the number
of his friend and leave the plan on how he is getting home
and so on.
The second chart is MEALS. I make sure that money envelopes are
left labeled Milk, Eggs, Cereals, Fruit that might run out and can be
replaced.
I chart out each evening what is happening for dinner, if meals are prepared in the refrigerated and labeled to be re-heated or if the evening plan is to have the caretaker order food from a local take out restaurant or is Dad going to take kids out to dinner.
I leave envelopes labels CHINESE FOOD TUESDAY with the chinese food number and money in envelope to pay for the food. I expect the caregiver who is responsible to leave receipts and change in each envelope for each night.
Another chart is the CONTACT chart. This is a list of emergency contact numbers
of friends in the area who will be home incase of emergency!
If My husband and I are away together we put a balloon over each day on the chart. Every evening the youngest child is the one who pops the balloons and tells every one how many more days are left til mommy and daddy return home!
Charts are not only great for organizing when you are away, they are great for teaching kids how to organize.
I am proud and amazed when I see my children creating charts for themselves.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
on organizing - REPORTS CARDS
Accordian folders are sold everywhere and I have one for each of my children. I wrote labels on the outside of each opening their grades,
PRE-NURSERY SCHOOL, NURSERY SCHOOL, KINDERGARTEN, 1st grade....7th grade
It is never too late to start. Start now with your reports cards you are getting this week and just leave the first few slots open. One day you will find the old reports cards, maybe you know where they are.
Either way, your kids are getting reports cards and being the concerned parents that you are, you want to follow their progress.
In New York City there are so many services available to support your children and if you see that the report cards of nursery-lower school continue to speak about fine motor skills, and you move into kindergarten and you read how the teacher speaks about it again, You might seek out a professional consultation to support your findings. They will want to see the history of the teacher report cards and you will have them organized!
I also use these folders to file any tests such as ERB, WIPSY or other tests that the school administers and we receive copies of. ( Eye tests and testing like that would go into medical records...SEE ON ORGANIZING MEDICAL RECORDS)
I know in lower schools the reports cards are not meant to be shared with the children but I appreciate how much work EACH teacher is going through to make a clear assessment of my child and I feel that warrants being read more than once. I sometimes grab a REPORT CARD ACCORDIAN FOLDER from one child when I see them having a hard day after school (at night) and read through the report cards.
A mothers instinct will give you answers on how best to help this child…and so will the reports written by the teachers who spend so much time with your children every day !
I hope your conferences go well and go out and buy a ReportCard organizer today
PRE-NURSERY SCHOOL, NURSERY SCHOOL, KINDERGARTEN, 1st grade....7th grade
It is never too late to start. Start now with your reports cards you are getting this week and just leave the first few slots open. One day you will find the old reports cards, maybe you know where they are.
Either way, your kids are getting reports cards and being the concerned parents that you are, you want to follow their progress.
In New York City there are so many services available to support your children and if you see that the report cards of nursery-lower school continue to speak about fine motor skills, and you move into kindergarten and you read how the teacher speaks about it again, You might seek out a professional consultation to support your findings. They will want to see the history of the teacher report cards and you will have them organized!
I also use these folders to file any tests such as ERB, WIPSY or other tests that the school administers and we receive copies of. ( Eye tests and testing like that would go into medical records...SEE ON ORGANIZING MEDICAL RECORDS)
I know in lower schools the reports cards are not meant to be shared with the children but I appreciate how much work EACH teacher is going through to make a clear assessment of my child and I feel that warrants being read more than once. I sometimes grab a REPORT CARD ACCORDIAN FOLDER from one child when I see them having a hard day after school (at night) and read through the report cards.
A mothers instinct will give you answers on how best to help this child…and so will the reports written by the teachers who spend so much time with your children every day !
I hope your conferences go well and go out and buy a ReportCard organizer today
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