My backpack weighs 25 lbs. i take home almost everything every day. how do i make it not weigh so much?

Question

my parents throw a fit when i come home from school because my backpack weighs a ton. i take home almost everything everyday.

i need to find a way to make my backpack lighter but still take home what i need to do my homework.

plz help!!

ps. im in seventh grade and if u have any more organization tips too that would be great!!!

thanx.

Answer 1

Have you asked if your school will lend you an extra set of textbooks to leave at home?  Then you can have one to keep at school and another to use in doing homework.  A lot of schools are allowing this option because so many children are damaging their backs.

Otherwise, see if you can purchase extra copies of the books to keep at home.  Then you should be able to get rid of most of the weight.

Also, some students use rolling bags, like the kind that pilots and stewardesses and other frequent travellers use for their carry-on luggage on airplanes; they have wheels and a handle that can be pulled out to use or pushed in to save space.  They may be a bit pricey, but it is much easier to push that weight around than it is to lug it on your back.

For the future, you might suggest that your school look into getting copies of textbooks on CDs for students to use at home.  I know some kids who have classes where there are textbooks that are kept in the classroom for classroom use and the students are given the choice of a heavy textbook or a CD to use at home for homework.  You might try suggesting that idea to the schoolboard.  (They may really like it if you mention that it will lessen the likelyhood of them being sued for injuring some poor student's back from such heavy loads.)

Good luck.

Answer 2

When you go to your locker at the end of the day, think about whether you actually need something to do your homework.

Ask yourself: "Do I need that textbook or that binder to do my homework?"

It also will help you to answer this if you write your assignments down in 1 central place (such as a planbook). Look at this when you're at your locker at the end of the day.

Answer 3

Leave things like textbooks at home. If your teachers require that you have them in school, have your parents request that they provide a spare book for you to use in class. (It helps if your parents inform them that they believe it is harming your back/posture/health and that they will not permit you to carry it: the teacher will have to make a decision about whether you need it at home or at school.)

Replace all notebooks and binders with one notebook with perforated pages and a binder for each class which you leave at home. Then, when you get home, tear out the appropriate pages and place them in your binders at home. Only bring homework, blank writing paper and recent notes/handouts to class.

Many teachers are very controlling when it comes to what *they* think you should have with you. Your parents need to call or have a meeting with each teacher and explain that they are very concerned and that they want the teacher to minimize what you need to carry...then, if the teacher does not respect their request, they need to contact them over and over until they do: good teachers will usually honor the first request and bad teachers will eventually decide that it is easier to comply then it is to deal with annoyed parents.

Oh, and the reason I suggest you get your parents involved is that the very same teachers who are most likely to try to control and micromanage you are the same ones who are unlikely to respect your needs/concerns.

Answer 4

Have school supplies at home. Have markers, colored pencils, highliters, pencils, pens, scissors, glue, looseleaf paper,calculator, ruler, erasers, etc. This way, you don't have to take anything home.

Get a 5-Subject notebook. This way you can use it for every class.

Have one folder for all your homework. Carry it around to every class. If you get a worksheet or something to take home, put it in that folder. This way, you aren't taking home every folder. When you get to school the next day, put the stuff back in the right folders.

Do as much of your homework at school as possible. Take a study hall if you can. Take advantage of work time during class.

if you have a study hall, do the work that involves a big book first. You can do ws's at home.

If there is a copy machine available for your use at school, make copies of the chapter(s) you need.

Don't take home anything that you don't need.

Organization:

Have a pencil bag that you carry to every class. Put at least 10 pencils, 4 pens (2 blue, 2 red), a gluestick, scissors, 2 erasers, 1 highliter in it.

Have an art box. In it, put markers, colored pencils, glue, eraser, one pencil, one pen, 2 sharpies.

Have a folder for each class.

Have a 5-Subject notebook to use for all classes.

Have a take-home folder. Put things like permission slips and ws's in it.

Have locker shelves and magnetic baskets for your locker.

Have an assignment notebook. Write down your assignments and stuf in here.

Answer 5

When I was in 6th grade, I had that problem too. So when I got into 7th grade, soon after we were assigned our textbooks I took them home and took photographs with a digital camera of every page of every textbook. That took about four hours. I don't think it's illegal as long it's for personal use but I'm not sure. Those four hours were really worth it.

OR, a better solution, you could try homeschooling! That's what I'm doing this year in eighth grade. I really like learning at home. No, homeschooling did not make me shy anymore than I was before.

Answer 6

Only take home what you need, leave the rest at school. If you dont have a locker or anything at school then bring it all home and take what you need to school. No matter what you tell yourself, you DO NOT need everything from school to do homework, I had the same problem from reception - 10th grade. Try to do as much as you can at school while also doing your best!

Hope this helps!

Answer 7

You are right. Carrying that much weight is bad for your back.

What some kids do is buy a duplicate set of textbooks to keep and use at home. You can get them cheap online, and it is well worth the investment, especially if you start an exchange at your school and sell them to someone else the following year. Don't carry library books or magazines around, you probably won't have time to read them at school anyway.

What else besides textbooks are you lugging back and forth? Be sure to use lightweight flexible plastic binders instead of the heavy hardcover ones. Don't carry papers back and forth like returned tests, homework or graded writing assignments. Keep an inbox and outblox near the front door to download papers you don't need each day (and upload those you do, like homework or papers signed by parents). Empty and clean out the backpack at least once a week, stuff accumulates fast.

Answer 8

Sand it down.

Answer 9

What I can suggest is:  Say you have a big Literature book.  But you know the chapter and assignment you will be given.  If you have a printer with a copy machine, maybe you can copy the chapter and just take that home with you instead of the whole book.  Use a 5 subject notebook, for a few subjects instead of having a notebook for each.  Try to do some of your work at school (if you can at study period).  Leave highlighters and pens and pencils in school and have a second stash at home for your homework.