My youngest son just had his last day of first days of school this week as a senior in high school. As I was looking for photos and at memories of when he started Kindergarten, I found one I wrote about on the first day of school when he was so disappointed that he didn’t have homework like his two older brothers. He is the youngest of three boys and had watched the older two come home, get a snack, and start on homework each school day. He wanted to be “big” like them and have homework to do, too.
Making homework time calm in a creative space each day can also make it easy and efficient in getting work done. You can set your children and your household up for success by organizing a fun and functional homework station. Here are some easy ways to set up a schoolwork station and encourage homework getting completed each day.
1. Turn a blank space into a fun space. Craft-O-Mania shows how you can use an empty corner of your home into a cute and colorful workspace.
2. Polished Habitat shows how she created a very simple, but functional workspace for her daughters on what they called the "awkward" wall in their home.
3. No space to have a desk or workstation? Or prefer to work at the kitchen table? Use this idea of a portable homework station from Small Stuff Counts.
4. Make a mobile homework station on a portable cart like A Night Owl Blog shares. Keep supplies stored in labeled containers and quick-reach supplies in cups on top.
5. We used an awkward coat closet that was under the staircase, removed the clothing rod that was mounted towards the front, and added shelves and a desktop to the farthest wall. This was the space my boys used for homework, school projects, or even to work on a Lego set in the quiet. The magnetic board was great to hold the Lego instructions or post favorite masterpieces of their artwork.
The side wall then had a hanging wall organizer from Ikea to hold all the markers, paintbrushes, and more. It is also super handy to have a roll of paper towels mounted to the wall to clean up any spills from paint-water or glue.
6. When they are older in high school and college, sometimes just a plain worktop is best...but you can still have a little fun with the space. Below is the desk we setup in our son's room so that he can easily unload his laptop from his backpack, plug in to the second monitor, and quickly get to work. Above the desk are two shelves from Ikea that display just a few of his favorite things.
Training your children with ways to keep themselves organized is such an important skill not just for homework, but for life. Tasks such as time management, neat workspaces, and project planning will not only help them with homework and at school, but also in life and the challenges it can bring as they grow into adolescent and adulthood.
Parents need a little help with staying organized as school stars up again. Did you know The Mad Padder offers custom school envelopes that are perfect for making sure every note, money, or item gets turned in at school? Check them out here.
Your family will love having a new creative work space and they may actually get excited about doing their homework like my son was twelve years ago on his first day of Kindergarten. However, twelve years later, homework is not his favorite thing about school and he does not get right to it when he walks in the door, but he has a space in his room to work like he dreamed of having when six.