10 Classroom Tips from a Teacher

We drop them off, we pick them up and we ask them how their day was - "good" seems to be a common answer - but do we really know what goes on inside the classroom on a day-to-day basis? Is there more we could be doing to make their days at school even better?

Lavish & Lime product review panel member, Paula Stevens, is an elementary school teacher in Vancouver with more than 15 years of teaching experience. She also heads the recycling and lunchtime monitoring programs at her school.

We sat down with Paula and asked what advice she'd give parents about preparing their kids for going back to school. Here are her top 10 tips from inside the classroom.

1. Be sure to tuck a small hand sanitizer in your child's lunch bag as a reminder to clean his or her hands. Like many teachers, I have a sink at the back of my classroom but not every teacher supplies soap and towels to wash up. Plus, in the older grades, teachers don't necessarily provide a specific time for hand washing prior to lunch.
2. Do NOT send cell phones, iphones or ipods to school - it's an excellent way to get in the teacher's bad books right off the start. Generally, younger kids aren't responsible enough to know when it's appropriate to use them and when it's not. For example, they all hear it's not acceptable, but there's been loads of instances of students texting during class. It's a case of eliminating the temptation for them. Most schools have a policy against kids having cell phones, blackberries, etc. at school and if they are allowed, they should probably be turned off and in their bags during school.
3. Even on hot lunch days, be sure to send reusable cutlery with your child to avoid the unnecessary use of the non-biodegradable plastic utensils that most school kitchens have.
4. Top up your child's supplies with quality pencils. Generally speaking, the pencil sharpeners on the market today are of pretty poor quality. It's best to try and buy better quality pencils that require less sharpening and don't break as easily. You'll help avoid frustration for your child.
5. Avoid dirty desktops. The fact that kids eat off their desktops really worries me. In most schools nowadays, the desks only get a quick wipe at the end of the day. Be sure to pack along something that resembles a reusable placemat with their lunch. Something like a reusable sandwich wrap that opens up or a cloth napkin would ensure they have a clean surface to eat on.
6. Be sure your child is prepared for the government mandated DPA (daily physical activity). Send your child to school each day with proper footwear, ie. running shoes, to ensure they can participate. It's not a lot of fun for those who get singled out because they can't take part.
7. Do NOT pack any pre-bottle or boxed drinks with your child. You may think they'll get recycled no problem, but recycling as a practice isn't really monitored at lunch time or anytime so recyclables often end up in the garbage can in the rush to finish up and get outside.
8. Buy a better quality, more durable water bottle. Typically, reusable water bottles are now sitting on the kids' desks all day long and they get knocked around, knocked off and do take a beating in the usual daily commotion of a classroom.
9. Be sure to label articles of clothing kids tend to remove while at school when moving around the school, ie. playground, gym, library, etc. Pay particular attention to hoodies, coats and gym clothes. I generally know what belongs to which student in my classroom, but if they leave a hoodie in the library or on the playground it can get lost. For whatever reason, kids rarely claim items that make it into the lost and found. We hold them up and still, kids don't seem to recognize them as theirs.
10. After school encourage physical activity. They've been doing a lot of sitting already during the day so get them away from watching TV or sitting at the computer. A healthy body is truly a healthy brain.

Finally - and I can't encourage this enough - be involved with your child's education. Simple steps include checking his or her planner on a daily basis and looking at the quality of the work brought home. Read their work, ask questions, ie. what's the focus or objective?, and take an interest.

If you have any questions or comments for Paula, you can reach her via customerservice@lavishandlime.com and we'll forward your email on.

For more ideas about making the transition back to school a smooth one, check out our 5 Money-Saving Tips for Back to School Shopping and 10 Ways to Build your Child's Self-Esteem for Success at School.