I forgot...

I have a bad memory.  I forget where I park the car, I forget people’s names.  I don’t remember what I had for supper last night, or what my kids wore to school this morning.  I don’t even remember what time my kids were born at (but yet, Daddy does, to the minute even!) I have lists for everything and I have to write everything down.  I have three day planners. Yes, I admit it, THREE!  I have notepads and pens all over the house, in the car and in my bag to write down what I need to remember.

However, there are times when I just don’t have paper with me.  When that happens, I write on my left hand.  It’s a habit I picked up in high school and it used to drive my mother crazy! I just can’t help it!  But even that little trick is starting to not work so well…Today, I forgot to pick up my son’s skating tickets, something I’ve been meaning to do for a week now.  I got home, sat down and remembered about it when I saw my To Do list.  

“But I wrote it on my hand!” I thought.

Here is what my hand looks like today.  No wonder I forgot about those tickets!  Maybe I need a new system.

I’ve seen all kinds of tricks and one of my favourite ones is from a colleague.  As she’s talking about something she needs to remember, she takes her watch off and puts it on the other arm.  It works for her, but I doubt that it would for me. 

This is a cool, yet so simple, trick I found on Pinterest to help students remember things, for example, a forgotten library book;  piece of bright coloured paper, wrapped around their wrist and taped in place, with a note written on it. Parents (and student) can't miss it!

This is also a neat trick.  Tell the child to remember to ask their parent for their book and stick a brightly coloured band-aid on their finger.  When the parent ask the child what happened to their finger, he or she remembers the forgotten book.

What kinds of tricks do you use to help you remember all the things that you have to do in a day?  How do you help your students remember?