If a school publishes an optional list of children’s phone numbers and addresses, do not put family information in this book. Little girls call little boys at an early age if they have easy access to a list of phone numbers. If anyone needs to find a phone number, it can be found in the phone book. Room parents will have access to class phone numbers depending on school district policy.

A parent/child advocate can be requested to be present at a school run meeting concerning a child (usually called a planning and placement team or PPT). This person oversees the child’s rights and knows the laws of special education. The presence of an advocate may not be seen as a benefit by the school district. Advocates are useful in complicated situations. For example, if a child has been evaluated by the school system, an outside evaluation of the child can be requested by a family and may be the district’s responsibility to fund. Advocates are also useful in cases involving foster children.

Brain research has shown children perform better when well hydrated. A water bottle should accompany children to school when temperatures are forecast to rise above seventy-five degrees. Speak with teachers about the circumstances of water bottle use in the classroom.

Pretzel rods make a great morning school snack. Place two or three in a lunchbox without a bag. This quick, clean snack keeps children from eating too long and not having enough time to finish work.

Avoid pants with zippers and buttons until grade two. Belts, overalls, or jumpsuits that zip up in back slow down the process of preparing to go to the bathroom, which could lead to disaster

For non-jelly sogged peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, a thin coat of peanut butter on each side of the bread prevents jelly ooze.

Help a child make flashcards from large index cards. Write an equation on the front of the card (the side with no lines) in a bold marker, and have the child illustrate the problem with stamps or stickers, showing objects in separate groups (circle the separate groups). Answer on the back with a pencil.

Math 21 is a formula to help students in third or fourth grade memorize multiplication and division facts. Math 21 breaks down facts into easier groups. Write all facts and sort out the 0,1,2,5,and 10 times tables as they come easily to most regular education students. Doubles facts, those such as six times six, are also easily memorized and are not math 21 facts. There are twenty-one remaining facts (using the converse property of multiplication). Focus on three facts a week for seven weeks or one fact a day for three weeks until all are memorized.

Elaborate snacks for school parties are unnecessary. Food gets eaten quickly and young children usually do not appreciate all the effort, just the taste. Springtime Oreos, a box of sprinkled donuts, or donut holes are super party snacks.

Inform school if a child is sick and will be absent. If the child has a contagious illness such as strep throat or pink eye, ask if there are others in the class or school with this illness. Names of sick students will not be given out but the information can pinpoint which child may be repeatedly bringing an illness into the house.

Ask the classroom teacher what her policy is on children washing hands before lunchtime.

Chair a PTO/PTA committee or event only after having seen the event or served on the committee first. PTO queens rule only after serving time as servants! Watch and learn.

Teacher stores have workbooks for summer work. Choose two or three workbooks and begin each summer day with two workbook pages. Children can choose math, reading, or spelling to keep interest level high. One workbook of fun activities such as mazes or crosswords can be reserved for Fridays. Mark completed papers with a huge star or smiley face.

Celebrate the first and last day of school with a special dessert or dinner. Make a "congratulations for finishing first grade" cake or a "happy summer" cake.

The day before school starts, bring donuts, bagels, and juice boxes to the bus stop at the same time the bus will be picking up children on the first day of school. Waking up early on the "first day of school eve" helps children feel tired earlier and aids in enforcing an earlier bedtime that night.

Ask a school employee if the child’s school runs on the hot side or the cold side in the winter. Classrooms on different sides of school buildings can vary by as much as ten degrees in any season due to sun movement, window placement, and airflow. Some classrooms are very hot, even in January.

A special set of hooks for backpacks gives each child a place to hang a backpack after emptying (papers and lunchbox) on the kitchen counter or table upon coming home after school.

Request that children leave any food not eaten from lunch in the lunchbox. Lunchbox packers can judge what and how much to pack based on leftovers. A barely eaten lunch can also signal illness (strep throat) or a problem (having to complete work during the lunch period).

Purchase a clear file holder for each child at an office supply store and mount on the inside of an often used door. Label with child’s name and file any forms to be filled out or kept for a long time (baseball schedules, permission slips, phone tree lists), homework to be done, and extra workbooks for practice.

Teachers may have strong feelings about parent helpers assuming younger siblings are welcome at school parties. Ask.

Allow children a few hours "off" when arriving home from school. Refrain from asking questions about school. Complete homework after dinner with the exception of practice or activity nights.

Support the school PTA/PTO at the first book fair of the year. The organization makes a large profit from each book sold (up to 50 percent). The second book fair run by the PTO is usually not for profit. Buy books in quantity at the second book fair. The prices are typically thirty-five to fifty percent off the cover price (the PTO does not make any profit). Scholastic and Troll offer school book fairs and information can be found on the internet.

Styrofoam egg cartons can be used to practice facts. Write numbers 0-11 in each hole with permanent marker. Place two beans or pennies in the box. Close, shake, open, and use the two numbers the beans land in to add or multiply.

The best thing a parent can do for a child’s education is to practice basic facts. Grades one and two require mastery of addition and subtraction facts to eighteen (9 + 9). Grades three and four need mastery of multiplication and division facts to the twelves. Practice games using dice and playing cards. School curriculums are loaded with information and concepts to be taught. Classroom teachers may not waste time reviewing rote facts that can easily be practiced and committed to memory at home. Students who do not know their facts will quickly become lost in more difficult problems that require knowledge of basic facts to complete.

First grade children can practice mastering spelling ten words a night from the 100 high frequency word list (appendix). A whiteboard or chalkboard can make practicing fun. Ask two "challenge words" for extra spelling confidence and practice.

When calling a teacher about an incident in school a child has related, begin the conversation with a question or by asking if she might provide any insight into why the child may be upset or concerned regarding events of the day. This saves the time of relating a child’s version and does not immediately put a teacher on the defensive. It shows a parent is concerned with the actual event; not an embellished version. If concerns remain after speaking with a teacher, request a conference.

If report cards are handed out at the time of a parent and teacher conference, request teachers place sealed report cards outside the classroom or in the main office for parents and guardians to sign for and review before the conference begins. A twenty-minute conference with a teacher should not be spent in silence while parents read report cards. Questions regarding the report card can be asked at the end of the conference, if during the conference they are not addressed.

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches can be made from fresh bread and placed in zippered sandwich bags in the freezer, and taken out to pack lunches in the morning.

A large plastic bin with a lid that fits under a child’s bed can store all schoolwork for the year. The day’s work (not homework) can be placed on his bed after school, reviewed before bed with an adult, and placed in the bin. Select a few pieces to keep at the end of the year and record the age and grade level the child was in when the work was completed. Avoid throwing away schoolwork in front of a child. Each paper brought home represents time a student spent in school.

Ask teachers if a check or cash to pay for milk money for the year in September will be acceptable. Milk money free mornings are a big time saver.

If a child is sent to school after an illness or if a parent is unsure the child is truly sick (not faking) , remind the child to ask the teacher to visit the nurse if he starts to feel sick. School custodians will be thankful.

Children need to be specifically told they are allowed to ask to use the bathroom even if they are not in their own classroom. Many accidents occur in the art room or gym due to child hesitation concerning bathroom rules.

Refrain from sending a newly recovered child to school on a Friday if the child has missed the previous week of school due to illness. The child’s immune system has been compromised and to attend school for one day and be exposed to a new set of germs in the classroom is not worth the effort. Stay in touch with the classroom teacher and obtain homework through a neighborhood child or arrange to have the work picked up at school.

Mark library days on the master calendar to help remind children to return books, gym days to avoid wearing skirts and Velcro sneakers for non-shoe tiers (shoes come off for gymnastics and other activities), and no fancy clothes on art days.

Refrain from making derogatory remarks about other adults (especially those connected with the school) in front of children. These always surface in strange ways.

If attending a PPT meeting about a child, hire a babysitter for other children, dress professionally, and only cancel in the event of an emergency. Taking notes is unnecessary as everyone present receives meeting minutes. The recorder will record any information from questions ppt members answer from parents to definitions of acronyms specialists may use to descriptions of the diagnostic tests a child has taken or will take. Ask questions and do not be afraid to do so during reports being quickly read by specialists. These specialists often have to cancel seeing children in order to attend the PPT and classroom teachers are usually in a hurry to return to the classroom where they may have an aide covering the class for the PPT meeting.

Questions to replace, "How was school today?" : Did your reading group meet today? Was recess inside or outside today? Who did you play with at recess? Did your class have an extra recess today? Did anyone in class get in trouble today? Did you hear a story today? What were some of the characters in the story? What songs were sung in music class today? What instruments were played? What sport did you learn about and play in gym? Who was in your gym group? What art supplies did you use in art? Why did you choose that library book? What part of the library was it in? What part of lunch did you eat at snack time? Did you see any friends in the hall? Did your class have any visitors? Did anything funny happen today in school? Who did you sit with on the bus?