Five Bucks or less: Homework Helper

Do you or someone you know find it difficult to attend to homework assignments because it gets visually overwhelming?

I found these Avery See Through Sticky Notes at the Recycling for Rhode Island Eduction Center, and immediately thought of a variety of uses because of a couple of unique properties. First, they are sticky notes and are easily removable, no real left over tack noted. Second, they come in a couple of colors and shapes, so depending on the preference of the child, you can accommodate pretty easily. Third, you can write on them. Note, if you write or erase vigorously, the color can come off. And depending on the writing implement you use the ink may rub off onto your hands.

So here are some quick uses for homework:
1. Place it on the math problem you need your child or student to focus on or copy.  The highlighting color draws attention to the problem and helps to alleviate some of the stress when there are multiple problems to complete.

 2. The child can then either write directly on the highlight sheet to complete the work, then copy it over if neatness is an issue.

3. Use the highlight to make a reading assist.  Trim the sticky note to the size of the font/spacing in a book the student is reading. Then the child can focus on the line(s) at a time and can follow the left to right, top to bottom reading, without skipping lines.

There's a Fly Guy in my Soup by Tedd Arnold

4. Same theory as above, teachers could stick these highlight papers in the big books they read to children as a cue for a new word.

Now I found them at an educator's discount place, noted above, so I paid 10 for $1.  But if you don't have access to a place like that, then these sticky notes can run anywhere from $3.50 and up for a package of 50 sheets.  But it may be a small price to pay to increase confidence and decrease stress during those pesky, and visually overwhelming assignments.

If you have more ideas on how you can use these See Through Sticky Notes, please post them on the blog response or my Facebook page.  I would love to add more ideas to my mental rolodex!