1. How can I keep my child from forgetting (or "losing") the assignment?

As any parent knows, many strange things can befall homework between school and home. Assignments may be left on the bus or copied from the blackboard in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. Your child may tell you she has no homework, then panic later in the evening as she remembers she has an essay on Abraham Lincoln due in the morning.

What's needed? Constant parental vigilance.

•Equip a forgetful child with a special notebook or folder for transporting homework between school and home. You might buy a cheap, lightweight cardboard folder with fasteners and pockets to which you can attach a plastic pouch filled with pens, pencils, and other supplies. Current assignments can go on top or in the front pocket.

• Keep a class list with phone numbers and names in a prominent place. When a homework assignment is forgotten or misplaced, your child can telephone another student for it.

• Enlist the teacher as your ally. Have your child write homework in a special notebook and have the teacher read it and sign off on it every day.

• Work with the teacher to develop a contingency plan in case a key assignment disappears. Agree on a few alternative assignments, such as interviewing Joan of Arc, writing a letter to Thomas Edison, or finding all the prime numbers between 0 and 100. The idea is to let the child know that forgetting a work sheet doesn't mean getting out of doing homework.

• Help your child load his backpack and put it by the door.