I am sure we’re not the first people to think of using a mirror and post-it notes to keep track of something, but I have to say that it was a really good study plan strategy. I noticed Latham liked to keep his homework on post-it notes sometimes, sticking them to the window when he had multiple assignments due. So for finals I bought a bunch of them in different colours, then we picked a colour-key (re-read, review, cram, exam) and put up a big calendar (pink post its) on the sliding mirror closet doors, covering the six weeks leading up to exams. Each week started on a Saturday because the weekend was the start of the lead in to the following week.

Then we added events, doctors appts and other key activities, included scheduled free time, and finally added the actual exams (red post its).   This formed the basis of all the “set items.” Then Latham created a yellow post it for every subject area he had to cover for every subject.  The goal then was to place all the subject study post its on to the calendar in a way that made sense based on the exam dates and all the other realities.  The photo is the final result at the beginning of the six week period.

It was such a great system because it was simple.  Every day he knew what he had to do and it broke up the overwhelming exams into daily bites.  It was flexible.  Things crop up and life messes with the schedule.  The post-its could easily be moved around to accommodate changes.  Plus it had the added bonus of being able to remove a subject once you had studied it, which has the same satisfaction as crossing something off a list.  What was really key was that it showed the possibilities and limitations of the six week period in a very visual way, illustrating how it could be done, but also demonstrating that if you don’t study a particular unit as scheduled you needed to find a way to fit it in somewhere else instead.

Regardless of his results which we don’t have yet, it set up him up to succeed and hopefully the results will reflect that.

So what do you think?  Should I pack some post-it notes in a fancy box with a DVD and sell it as an IB Study System for $49.99?!