Make a place mat that helps fourth graders remember all the essentials. On a piece of 18-by-12-inch card stock, glue three 6-by-12-inch rectangles from contrasting paper. Using a marker, write a checklist on the rectangle to the far left and another on the far right including things that have to be done at home before school and items that should be taken to school. For example, eat breakfast, brush teeth and bring instrument. Embellish with markers, stickers or glitter glue. Have the place mat laminated at the local copy shop. Kids can use a dry-erase marker to check off items as they complete the tasks.
Keep pencils, important notes and other school supplies close at hand with a stretchy binder. Crisscross thin elastic headbands around the front cover of a heavy plastic three ring binder. Stick writing utensils under the elastic to keep nearby. Students can slip reminder notes in the elastic as well as pictures of friends.
Make customized pencil cases to keep writing utensils together in one place. Include extra erasers and a small sharpener to maintain self-sufficiency in class. Start by purchasing a blank box from a craft store. It can be a plastic pencil case, paper mache or even wooden. Embellish as desired with foam letters, paint and jewels.
Fourth graders can find it difficult to remember all the important information presented to them at the beginning of a school year, or when they have to deal with changes due to a move. Use coded beads to help students remember locker combinations, cell phone numbers or bus schedule. Start with cording and colored beads. Tie the cord to a lanyard hook of key ring. Write the information a child needs to remember on a piece of scrap paper. Change into a code, for example four beads of one color equal the number four or use number beads to spell it out exactly using spacer beads in between. Tie a secure knot at the end of the strand. If the child is confident in their ability to decode, consider making a secret code using letters, for example using a corresponding letter to represent numbers; A = 1, or use a telephone keypad to come up with the letters, 2 could be A, B or C, 3 is D, E, or F and so on. Attach the finished piece to their backpacks or zipper pulls on coats.