I can’t believe this is our last week before school begins. The summer went by so fast and while I am exited about having some sort of routine again with a school schedule, I am actually sad we won’t have those lazy mornings together anymore. Mornings where we are still in our pajamas at lunch time or we decide to walk to Dunkin Donuts at 7 am and stop and play at every park along the way.
With school nearing it means homework will soon fill our late afternoons. One of my resolutions this year was to create a homework center for my kids. I think it’s important to have a space where your kids can spread out and do their homework and not be distracted. So far I haven’t made this a reality, but maybe the approaching school year will force me to figure it out. Having been a teacher in my past, here are a few tips I would share with parents when creating this type of space at home.
Tip 1: Choose a spot in your home. It can be in the kitchen, mudroom, office, basement, etc., many places will work and once you find yours designate it as the homework center.
Tip 2: Place all school supplies within arms reach. If you don’t have storage space for supplies consider a cart on wheels to store supplies. Remember this post on an “
art cart” to keep supplies nearby? Great way to keep things mobile and close.
Tip 3: Make it personal…allow your child to hang favorite photos, artwork, or other momentos. You can use corkboard to create a bulletin board or magnetic boards for them to display their momentos.
Tip 4: Keep clutter away! It’s hard for kids to concentrate if they are surrounded by clutter and a mess. Think about adding a table lamp to create soft lighting.
Here are some great study spaces:
Love this chalkboard/magnetic board. And those ghost chairs? Perfect!
They’ve used the
Vika Alex cabinets paired with a countertop to create this workspace.
Even a basement can be made into a personal space with a few warm touches.
Any of you still have your
stokke highchair? This highchair turns into a seat even for adults.
Simple, clutter free and colorful!
What a great re-purpose trick! Might be a little small for your school aged kids but perfect for preschoolers. And who cares if they destroy it with paint and markers.
You don’t need a large space–even a little nook will do the trick.
I’m sure some of you have kiddos heading back to school this week. If so, best of luck and don’t forget to capture that first day of school photo.
Thanks for the tips! All the photos are great, good for inspiration and stimulating the imagination how a homework place would look like.
Hi Amy – Thanks for the post! We are trying to dermine where we’ll do a homework space as well. What is the source for the photo with the Alex drawer units and counter top? I’d like to learn more about this space as we are thinking of doing something similar in a window nook we have in Connor’s room.
Hi Lisa–you can click on the photo which will take you directly to the source. That photo was taken from a blog, Ikea Spotting. Countertop, drawers and chairs are all from Ikea.