Since school is just around the corner, one of the things that you will want to do is to create the perfect spot for your child to do their studying and homework. Sometimes it can be hard to decide what to do to help your child with finding the right spot. The good news is that there are a few things that you can do to find the right spot for your child, no matter how big your home is. Below are some easy tips that you can use to create the ideal study spot to help your child get their work done.
Have the Right Furniture
It’s important for your child to be comfortable, but not too comfortable that they are going to fall asleep. Select a desk for them that comes up to between their ribcage and waist when they are sitting down, and a chair that is simple that will fit their desk’s height. It’s important that they are able to rest their feet upon the floor and not hunch their shoulders over their laptop while they are working.
Have the Proper Lighting
When their study space isn’t lit properly, it could make your child feel tired. It also can cause strain on their eyes. Make sure that the screen contrast is comfortable for them to view, light your child’s study area with a little desk lamp and an overhead or larger lamp for lighting the remainder of their room. It’s fine to use natural light, but ensure that they aren’t going to be tempted to look out their window and get distracted from studying.
Keep Their Supplies Ready
The study area should have all the supplies they need on hand, and just these study materials. Keep some traditional things such as books, pens, and paper in a specific area on their desk or inside a drawer in their desk. You should also make sure that their tablet or laptop charger’s close by, since the last thing you want your child to do is to lose work because they didn’t realize their battery was dying.
Organize the Area
An efficient and tidy desktop is going to be very effective, no matter if it’s on a computer or an actual desk. So you want to ensure everything that your child needs for studying has a place on the desk and everything’s clearly labeled, particularly printed materials and computer files. Learning platforms will keep them updated, but it’s also a good idea to have a wall calendar so that they know what’s needed next.
Provide Them with a Clock
Time management’s often a big skill that students need to learn. It’s a good idea to have a clock either on your child’s wall or desk. When they’re being used for a motivational tool, clocks can be very simple ways for your child to remain focused and get their work done.
Make It a Phone Free Zone
More and more children have phones, and it seems like they are always on it. It’s best to make the study area a phone-free zone. But if this isn’t possible, because your child is using it as a calculator or other apps that are necessary for studying, there are apps that you can use to limit what they are able to do on their phone.
Be Careful of Sound
One of the things that your child might enjoy is having some music on while they are studying. But it’s important that the sound your child is hearing is only the music that they choose. The last thing that they should have to worry about is being distracted by the television, outside noises or other sounds.
Consider Getting Some Headphones for Your Child
This goes along with the tip above. If you live in an apartment, where cutting down on sound is hard, then you want to think about getting them some noise canceling headphones. This will help your child only listen to the music that they want rather than hearing other people talking on the phone, watching television and other children playing outside. These are a great choice for kids who have ADHD, but it also is great for neurotypical children as well so that they have fewer distractions.
Make it an Area Just for Studying
When you make an area for your child to study in, make sure the space is just used for their study time. This is really important because that space represents your child’s focus and dedication to doing well in school. If you can’t give them an area that is just for studying due to space, you want to ensure that the area can be transformed into a study area and back to the other area as easy as possible.
Create an Area for Books & Magazines
Does your child love to read? Then having a great area for books and magazines is a great option. Whether the area is right in their room on a bookcase or someplace out in the general area so that everyone can read the books, having a ready-stocked area of books and magazines is a great choice. One of the best places that you can find books for an affordable price is used bookstores. Libraries sometimes have books for sale too when they are trying to get rid of some of their books.
Here are some final tips to remember:
Along with the tips above, below are some final tips that you can use to help your child use their study area to its fullest potential.
- Availability — Be available for questions, especially for younger children. Even though they have their ‘office’, you want to make sure that they know that you are still available if they need help or have questions.
- Snack — Before your child starts their homework, offer them a snack. This is especially important if they have an early lunch. By the time that they are home from school, they’re likely hungry. Being distracted due to hunger isn’t going to help them get any work done.
- Talk — When your child comes home from school, maybe while they are having their snack, ask how their day went. This is also going to give them a break between school and their homework time.
- Office Hours — Have a designated study or homework time for your child. This way they don’t feel as if they always have to be in their study area.
- Have a Binder — This binder is where your child puts all of their graded homework, tests, etc so that you and they can look back and see how far they have come as the year goes by.
When you are looking for a way that you can give your child their very own ‘office’ in their home, use these tips to help you create the ideal spot. Having a spot to do their work will give them a feeling of belonging and help them stay on task. This also can help them with having a set schedule and get into a routine. Both of these can help your child do better in school and concentrate more. It also will help prepare them for later.
