3 Time-Saving Tips for the School Year

by jphilo | Jan 9, 2013 | Different Dream, Educational Paperwork, Time Management/Organization

3 Time-Saving Tips for the School Year

Time-saving tips can make the school year go more smoothly for parents and students with special needs. At the Iowa Learning Disabilities Conference in October, parents who attended my workshop, Managing You Time without Losing Your Mind, shared their favorite time-saving tips during Q & A. Here’s what they had to say.

Time-Saving Tip #1

The first tip came from the mom of a teen who has short term memory issues. Teachers use the record feature on her son’s iPod to explain each day’s homework assignment. This is written into his IEP. It works better than written communication because it’s faster for teachers and can’t be as easily “lost.” What kid wants to lose an iPod?

Time-Saving Tip #2

The second tip comes from a mom whose kids have special dietary needs that require snacks at school. She packs a week’s worth of drink boxes in an inexpensive plastic pencil box. In another box, she packs a week’s worth of snacks. They fit perfectly into the pencil box, which can be labeled with a Sharpie marker.

pencil box

Time-Saving Tip #3

The third tip comes from a mom whose son whose special needs impact his organizational skills. Long-term projects or those with multiple parts are particularly bothersome for him. He uses a hard document case (The picture is my best attempt at finding what the mom explained…I hope it’s right!) with the slots numbered for the days of the month. The assignments for each portion of the project are filed in the slot corresponding to the date when it’s due. This system makes it easier for her son to “see” what needs to be done when.

Time-Saving Tip #4, #5, and Beyond

The remaining time-saving school tips in this series depend upon you. Leave a comment to share tips that save time and help your child succeed at school. Thanks!

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Jolene Philo is the author of several books for the caregiving community. She speaks at parenting and special needs conferences around the country. Sharing Love Abundantly With Special Needs Families: The 5 Love Languages® for Parents Raising Children with Disabilities, which she co-authored with Dr. Gary Chapman, was released in August of 2019 and is available at local bookstores, their bookstore website, and Amazon. See Jane Dance!, the third book in the West River cozy mystery series, which features characters affected by disability, was released in October of 2023.

Author Jolene Philo

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So far, I’m on track even though plumbing problems left us without water off and on for two days. The dirt and bug splat on the windows is appalling, and the number of dead Asian soy beetles nestled in every nook and cranny of the window frames and screens is mind-boggling. But, I persevere for one reason only. I’m listening to The Story of Edgar Sawtell on my iPod and can’t wait to see how the book ends.

After twenty-five years of reading stories to kids after lunch every day, having someone read to me is pure bliss, even if I’m doing housework while I listen. In fact, a person could judge the quality of the current selection on my iPod by the cleanliness of my house. Only a truly memorable book could make me eager to wash windows.

So forgive me if this post is a bit short, but the windows in Anne’s bedroom are calling. Well, the windows and Edgar Sawtell, which is amazing since he’s mute.

You want to know more? Start washing windows.

Armed and Dangerous

by jphilo | Jan 22, 2009 | Daily Life

I’m not sure when it happened but sometime in the last five years, technology invaded my office. I am now the owner of a MacBook, a snazzy digital camera, a telephoto lens, a fancy flash attachment, a tripod, a digital camcorder, a new fliptop cell phone, an external hard drive, an iPod Classic, a tape recorder and a gizmo that allows me to use it to record phone interviews, several carrying cases, multiple charger cords and more cables than you can shake a stick at.

If I knew how to “utilize new technology to the fullest,” these devices would make my life easier. But I know just enough to be dangerous, never efficient. My external hard drive, which I use to back up documents and pictures says it is full, and I have no idea how to get rid of its technoclutter. The manual to the fancy flash attachment says that to determine the correct flash bounce angle, I should check the camera’s ISO setting. What does that mean? My iPod is always syncronizing, the tripod sometimes collapses without notice, the new cell phone’s ring is unfamiliar, and my technology drawer is a mass of cables and chords that look an awful lot like the Canadian garter snake balls I saw in National Geographic once. Sometimes I hear things moving around in the drawer. I think they’re mating.

The situation will never get better, only worse. More technology will invade my house and breed behind closed drawers. So consider this your warning. I’m armed and dangerous. It’s time to lock the doors.