Setting Up Your Child's Homework Desk

Before you begin setting up your child's homework desk, choose a quiet location in your house. If you have a large family, this may be difficult. Your child's homework spot should be in a place with little family traffic during homework time. Many people choose the kitchen for homework help, but this is not the best spot if your family is constantly getting drinks out of the refrigerator, or it is easy to hear the television blaring from the family room. A good homework solution is placing the homework desk in a child's bedroom, a parent's office, or a family den. It should be away from noise and people - anything that might cause a distraction during homework time. Sometimes choosing the location is one of the hardest homework tips for parents to follow.

The homework desk can be a table or a desk--new or old. The important thing is that it has plenty of surface room to work on. The girls in the picture have a large table where they can spread out their work. The homework desk should remain free of clutter and paperwork.

For your child's homework desk, you will need basic school supplies. It helps to have the supplies stored in or near the homework desk. This alleviates the problem of your child wasting time looking for a pencil or finding a dictionary to see how to spell a word. The supplies your child will need for homework help will differ depending on his age, but basically you will need: sharpened pencils or erasable pens, erasers, notebook paper, calculator, a ruler, a lamp or good overhead light, dictionary, scissors, glue, and colored pencils or crayons. One homework solution for storing these supplies is to use baskets on the homework desk if it doesn't have drawers for storage. Discuss with your child how these school supplies need to stay at the homework spot, and that he should not use them for any other purpose without permission.

Let your child set up his homework desk to get him on board with homework time. Although you should pick the location and basic organization of the spot, he can choose some supplies such as his pencils or pens. Does he have a favorite color or character? Work these into the homework desk. For example, you could place framed pictures of his favorite things on the wall near his homework spot. He could have a favorite stuffed animal or action figure that sits on the homework desk and watches him do his homework - as long as it will not be too distracting. If you are using an old table or desk that can be painted, let your child choose the color and help you paint. This homework tip for parents works best if you let your child help you with this homework solution.

Follow these tips, and the homework desk is sure to be of great homework help to your student for years to come!