Setting up a homework station
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Whoever came up with the idea of a homework station is just a little bit of genius, don’t you think?
It’s a simple idea that we all in hindsight wish that we had before. Children have desks at school as well as specific stations for projects. Why not carry this on and have this at home as well? Not only does a homework station help out the child, it helps to prevent everything all over the house too! If we can all benefit from it, why are we not using this more?
Why use a homework station?
- It can help a child focus
- The child can develop consistency and stability
- It will help them start their homework faster already having things in place
- Kids will be taught responsibility of keeping a specific place clean
- It will keep your house clean!
Creating a homework space can be one of the best ways to help your child do all of their homework needs. If you give your child a lot of rein in how to set up the station, they may like it more and actually want to go to it when it is time to do homework.
Keep reading to learn more about setting one up in your home. Your kids will thank you for it!
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The Top Three Tips for Using a Homework Station
Use a Table or Desk
Many kids prefer to do their homework sprawled out in a comfortable chair or on the couch. But, it can be harder to stay focused this way. If they are not required to have good posture, they may slouch, or even lay down a bit while doing it. Posture makes a huge difference overall in doing homework. And it may even lead to an unscheduled nap!
Think about it this way: how well would your child succeed in school if they were always slouched over, or always in a huge comfy chair? They may succeed sometimes, but they would not be set up for success.
It also does not set up boundaries for the household. If you have multiple children, this may lead to kids getting in each other’s way. They may sit on each other’s homework, be too close to each other to focus, etc. Then, it is harder to clean up everything before dinnertime. Giving each child a table or a desk to work at will have strong benefits.
Must Needs for the Homework Station’s Table and Desk
- Provide them with a desk and comfortable chair
- Make sure that it is a desk that has plenty of room to lay out their books
- Make sure there is room for them to have multiple papers out and write as well
- Adequate lighting is a must! Let’s protect those eyes!
Keep the Space Organized
When any work space is cluttered, it is so difficult to get things done. First of all, with a messy desk, it is necessary to sort through a mess to find books and supplies. This delays starting time for homework. If it takes 5-15 minutes for your child to get all the things they need to start working, that’s 5-15 minutes they think of as “homework time” when they are not actually getting anything completed.
Another issue is that the purpose of a homework station is to relieve all the distractions and help children focus. However, working in a cluttered environment makes it super easy for kids to get distracted. Imagine having multiple times open on a computer. It is easy to get distracted and click around, and then end in some rabbit hole of useless information on the internet. The same is true for children and their homework stations. They procrastinate homework by cleaning their desk at that moment instead of working. Or, they may find something on their desk that encourages to change gears and complete something else outside of their homework.
That being said, it’s helpful to keep your homework desk as clean as possible
Obviously, kids are kids, and this will not happen all the time. Instead, it is about the learning process of teaching organization in your children.
A helpful place to start is fun organizers. Organizers come in all shapes and sizes. You can even let your child pick out their organizers so they are more likely to use them!
However, if you do not want to spend a lot of money, there are other options as well. The least expensive route is to use masking tape or a label maker to mark off areas to separate supplies. You can always purchase organizers later. Another good place to start is the Dollar Tree for random buckets and cute bins to put their supplies in. You can give your child $5-$10 and just send them to pick out their own ways to organize there. Plus you never know, they may become a clean, organized kid thanks to your guidance!
Make Sure It’s Quiet
When it’s time to do homework, it’s crucial for students to have a peaceful environment to work in. As you set up the homework station, make sure it’s in a location that typically isn’t used by other family members during study time.
It’s also a good idea to ask everyone in the household to participate in quieter activities whenever it’s time for someone to work on an assignment or project.
Let Kids Make It Their Own
Once you organize a homework station for your kids, give them some time to decorate it however they see fit. When they get the chance to make the space their own, they’ll automatically feel more comfortable and generally find it easier to get work done.
These are just a few basic tips when it comes to setting up a homework station. Once you do so, I can almost guarantee your family members will wonder how they ever managed without one!
How do you handle homework in your home? Do you have a specific place for your child to work? Let us know in the comments below.
If you liked this article, you may also like Quick and Easy Back to School Breakfast Ideas.
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