School is beginning next Wednesday for both my sixth grader and sophomore children. I have spent time reading reviews and researching book bags and binders. My sixth grader is ADHD, is very hard on binders and bags, while my 10th grader is ADD, and less destructive.

This year I discovered a dual or double zippered binder for my sixth grader. This way he can have one binder hold his folders, and the other side for school supplies, like loose-leaf paper. There are three folders, a red, green, and blue folder. At our house, we have a nifty homework system.

Everything goes in the three ring binder described above. First is a red folder which holds all schoolwork that was not finished in class and any homework papers. The red color is reminiscent of a stop sign or stoplight to remind my son to stop and go finish his schoolwork.

Next is our green folder, which is reminiscent of a green light and is a reminder to my student to GO turn in his homework. Only completed homework and school papers go into the green folder. My student is supposed to check and turn in any papers in the green folder immediately upon arriving in his homeroom class.

The blue folder is for all school and home communication needs. This folder holds parent/teacher communications, school announcements, permission slips, and any graded homework to show mom or dad. The student is the person responsible for bringing any papers to the parent and for moving homework from the red folder to the green folder.

I use poly type folders made out of plastic and more durable then paper ones, often surviving a whole school year, and allowing us to reuse the plastic folders for more than one year. The binder has a zipper, which encloses the contents preventing my ADHD student from losing papers/supplies as he changes between classes.

In the binder, I have included a zippered mesh pouch for pens, pencils, and erasers. There is also a clear plastic pouch for lunch and field trip money. My son always does his homework, but forgets to turn it in at school. I keep telling him you are doing the hard part so you might as well get credit for your work.

The goal is to use the color-coded folder system until it becomes an ingrained habit. Children need to learn how to be successful as a student; otherwise, school will be a constant struggle. Many ADD and ADHD students drop out of school because of frustration at their lack of organizational skills and the frustration of forgetting assignments or losing completed work.