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Show It KJtW Makes Cents EXfvfl by mH vi ft m& JUDGEjkJp Dear Vi: This year I used the pretty wrappings from our little girl's birthday presents to make covers for her school books. Although she hadn't complained before, she keeps telling me how nice it is to have pretty covers on her books instead of plain brown-bag paper., Irene Trapp, Provo.Ut. This reminds me of several ideas to help make school an enjoyable experience while preventing the morning rush that leaves parents frustrated and exhausted. Teach little girls to wind the elastic bands from their braids around the hairbrush, where they will be readily available. Have children lay out the clothes they will wear the next morning. Insist on this: Also, before bedtime each night, insist that books, lunch money, articles for "show and tell," signed absence slips, permission slips everything needed for school the next morning are together. Brown bags are useful for this purpose, one for each child with his or her name on it. One working mother told me this had saved her. sanity, getting everyone off In the morning had been such a hassle. Prepare sandwiches for lunches in large batches and freeze them. This is a safety as well as a time-saving practice. Frozen sandwiches will remain cold enough to prevent any spoilage but will be thawed by lunchtime. Teach children to clean out and wash their own lunch boxes and thermos bottles as soon as they get home from school. Also have them help you wash the fruit, wrap cookies or other treats, and fill and refrigerate their thermos bottles the night before. With lunch boxes clean and everything ready, the children can quickly assemble their own lunches the next morning. Plan breakfast and set the table as you clean up after the evening meal. Make children take the responsibility for their own success or failure at school. Encoruage them, of course, but point out the consequences of both good and bad conduct. "If you are late, you, not I, get a lardy mark." "If you get to school on time, you, not I, get the praise." "If you don't do your homework, you, not I, have a bad day at school." If you forget your lunch, you are the one who will go hungry." Get in the habit of chatting or singing together as you prepare for the day. Children who leave home in a happy, unruffled mood do much better in school. Ask any teacher. Things go better for the parents, too. |