Making a List

“Do you know how to make a list?” I asked a little girl once.

“Of course!” she replied quickly.

That surprised me.

She added, “I just made a list of toys I want from Santa Claus.”

That surprised me even more. When I was four years old, her age, I already knew the “truth” about Santa – a myth that children are made to believe is real.

“My dad said Santa will not give me all the toys in my long list,” she cocked her head. “Santa usually gives only the No. 1 in the list, even if I have been good.” 

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As you are now old enough to read this, I am sure you already know that all good gifts come only from God, who gives us everything we need. So I need not ask you if you know how to make a list. Sometime in your young age, you probably made a Santa list.

Yet you may be thinking, Kids make Santa lists, but only adults make other lists.

Well, adults do make varied lists: grocery lists, ingredients list, shopping list, and all kinds of so-I-don’t-forget lists. But if you were able to make a list for Santa, then you can easily make any kind of list, right?

The list I have in mind is a school to-do list.

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You see, I am a part-time college teacher; meaning I only teach a few hours during the week.  But in those teaching hours, my students sometimes make me feel very sad.

When I ask for their assignments or projects on the day they are due, I get many responses said in different volumes and tones: “I forgot.”

I remind them, make a to-do list so you won’t forget.

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Over the ages, we’ve been told – or we know for a fact – that as people grow old, they will get forgetful. Lolos and lolas in their 70s and above do forget about this and that. It is a part of the aging process.

Yes, memory loss comes with years.

Today, however, more and more young people (elementary, high school, and college students) are getting forgetful.

My friend Den, who heads a grade school, told me that she has a “Lost and Found Corner.” Every day, many things are left scattered in school by her students – pencils, writing pads, coloring books, textbooks, hankies, headbands, lunchboxes, thermos, etc.

In my classroom, likewise, I often find ball pens, flash drives, notebooks, and writing pads.

What I don’t find is a cellphone. My students hang on to them really well and probably will never live a minute without this gadget.

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How about you? Do you forget to do your assignments or projects? Do you forget to bring some things to and from school?

To solve this problem, you can make a simple to-do list.

On one sheet of pad paper, write this title: “Things to do today.” Add in the date and some drawings of your favorite flower or animal.  Under the title, write the numbers 1 to 10 with a line following each one. 

Fill in those lines – as easy as fill-in-the blank: Do assignment in Math; ask Mom to buy materials for a project; pray; help with the dishes; call Lola to say “hello”; and many more. 

So, would you do it? With a school to-do list, you will never, ever again, forget anything that has to be done – in or out of school.  Tuck that list on a wall at home where you can see it.

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Get in touch with me through my blogsite – www.leavesofgrace.blogspot.com or email me at – [email protected].