MOOSE Notebooks

MOOSE NOTEBOOKS (or the like)
Management of Organizational Skills Everyday

Notebooks (quality 1 inch thick (or thicker depending on your needs)three ring binders with a view panel and several labelled colored pocket folders and protection sheets) are designed to help students develop good organizational skills that will benefit them throughout life. It ensures that parents receive all vital papers coming home: homework assignments, notes, graded papers, anedotal notebooks. Parents are expected to check the notebook each night with your child. Once a week students turn in the weekly homework assignment sheet that has been signed by a parent.

Pocket Folders with two sides and with three holes (don't try to punch the holes yourself, buy them prepunched!!) are color coded depending on what colors you want to use for the specific sections.


Sections of the MOOSE Notebook.
Use as many or as few as you need or see fit, this is an idea list.

Zipper Pocket – place lunch money in here, notes, field trip permission slips, fund raising money, picture money, book order money, .

Pocket Folder: Homework Section – Weekly assignment sheet that should be signed by parent nightly when work is completed. All homework sheets are here: spelling, math facts, practice pages etc. Reading logs are also kept here also.

Pocket Folder: Newsletters/Notes from School – from the classroom, administration or the SAU

The following pages are contained in a page view protection sheet for easy access:

Calendar and Menu

Classroom (rules, schedules) or school information

An empty page protection sheet for classroom books borrowed or used for homework.

Pocket Folder – completed and corrected work to be kept.

Pocket Folder – missed work to be made up

Other items that can be included: handwriting chart, numbers, colors, suggested grade level book list, Study tips, overview of what is covered during the semester or all year.


There are many other names for this notebook:
BEE -- Bring Everything Everyday
FROG – Fun, Responsibility, Organization & Growth
BEAR – Bring Everything Always Ready

A list of over 170 similar acronyms can be found here (dead link removed).


Other Notes:
For preschoolers, kindergarten students, you may want to send the notebooks home once a week, take home on Wednesday or Thursday bring back the next day.

Best time to check books is in the AM while students have morning desk work. You will know where to look for anything that is coming into the classroom.
Some teachers have used a flagging system if there are papers being returned from home and a flag is visible on a page. Or you can have a piece of paper that slips in the front viewer to identify a note is back.


Financing the notebooks ~tips~ --

PTA
You can ask parents to donate a set amount of money (figure out how much it will cost you to put together, then ask for that amount)
Donation from a business that is in partnership with a school. Or a parent may be able get a donation from their business workplace.
WalMart grant (apply early).
Some office stores may be willing to donate all the material or give you money credit for a set amount of material and you match the funding or pay the overage.

(This article originally appeared on my Ed website at IVillage and then Geocities. Updated 9/09)