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Thanks for visiting my blog. Hope you find some helpful hints for organizing your time and space. My passions are to help you make home a refuge instead of a crisis center, and to help you function in peace rather than chaos - at home or at work. I have switched my main blog to 1-2-3 ... Get Organized on WordPress, so please visit me there.



Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Getting Organized for School - School Supplies and Backpacks

School Supplies

One of my daughters was a procrastinator. More than once she would announce after dinner that she had a project due the next day and needed poster board or other supplies.

To prevent myself from having to participate in her procrastination by making a special trip to get supplies, I started keeping supplies of poster board, foam board, report folders/covers, printer ink and paper on hand. I tried to maintain a good supply of markers, colored pencils, glue sticks, and other such items, too.

If you haven't purchased all your school supplies yet, you may want to pick up report and project supplies at the same time and save yourself a trip. I find that Sam's frequently has pens, paper, and ink at more reasonable prices than office supply stores. And the dollar store is a great resource, too!

Backpacks

Wheels are wonderful! A backpack on wheels is much kinder than one that must be carried over the shoulders. I've tried to lift our foster daughters' backpacks without success - I don't know how they do it!

However, if your child or his school insists on unwheeled backpacks, here are a few tips I have recently learned:

- the weight of a backpack should not exceed 15% of a child’s body weight, according to the American Occupational Therapy Association

- to prevent back strain, the backpack should be carried on two shoulders and should have wide, well-padded straps

- the lowest part of the backpack should be no lower than 4 inches above the waist

- heaviest books should be carried closest to the back with lighter objects in the front pockets

- backpacks should be cleaned out weekly to eliminate unnecessary items.
Source: CNN/health.com.


Any tips for us? Please click comments below to share your ideas.

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