It's Gallon Man...to the rescue!

I borrowed this project from a coworker my very first year, and he's made a comeback year after year!  I enjoy teaching capacity, and mostly because of this little guy!  Each student gets to make one, and they end up being half the size of the student.  I think it really helps students remember, too.  I had a child from one of my 2nd grade classes impress her 6th grade teacher because she was able to recall the different equivalencies.  She said it was this project that helped her!  *tear*

You'll need 5 sheets of construction paper, each one a different color.  One will be for his head (or her head, as the girls always  want to make a Gallon Girl), one will be kept whole and labeled "gallon".  The next sheet will be folded into fourts, cut, and labeled "quart".  Then, fold another sheet into eighths, cut, and label "pint".  Finally, fold the last sheet into sixteenths, cut, and lable "cup".  My kids had a ball making these, and stayed focused the entire time.  When trouble comes your way (in math), call for Gallon Man to save the day!

Keeping Up With the Joneses

I'm sure you all have your own way of keeping up with parent contacts, but I thought I'd share my system.  It works well for me, that is....when I remember to keep thorough records!  However, I am diligent with students/families that are....um.....difficult challenging.  You know the type!

In this binder, I keep a sheet in the front that lists each student, phone number, and parent names.  Nowadays, it seems like fewer students share the same last name as their parent(s).  I have a hard time remembering all the different names, so this is an easy reference when I need to make a phone call.  (Not too professional to say "Hello Kevin's mom, this is Mrs. T", LOL!)

Then, each student gets a divided section.  In this section, I keep the "All About My Child" questionnaire I give parents at the beginning of the year, a documentation form for each time contact is made with the parent(s), any notes that parents send me, and a page protector to hold the small notes that I can't hole punch.

This binder has saved my tail on occasion!  How do you keep up with parent contacts?