A study station is perfect for those times when your students need to study or do school work at home.
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Here are some tips for making a study station that kids will love to use at home.
When it comes to doing homework or taking classes at home, having a homework station or study center can help to keep students focused on doing their homework and accomplishing goals.
One of the best things about making a study area is that it can help students to focus by removing distractions that might otherwise draw their attention away from the task at hand.
Also, students can become involved in designing their study area and having some say in what goes into creating the space, such choosing as a certain color chair or lamp to use.
If you are short on space, then a homework station can also be set up at a dining table or in a breakfast nook. Using portable furniture and organizers, like rolling carts and top handle caddies can make it easy to move school supplies and study aides to the place where you need them.
At the end of the school day or study period, have kids clean up the homework station and put supplies up in their dedicated spaces. If more than one child uses the study space, then give each child their own space or caddy for storing supplies.
Here are a few homework station and study area tips and supplies that you may find useful.
Tips for Creating a Study Area at Home
These 5 tips can help you to create a great homework station or study area for times when students are working at home.
1—Make some space for a study area.
Designate a specific area in the home to use as a study station. Put a desk or table in the space for working on and add a chair or two.
A low bookcase can be great to have for storing books and supplies. It can also serve to help separate the study area from the rest of the room.
Simple decorations, such a colorful rug or curtains for a window, or a map of the world, to help to give the space some personality. Fun ideas can include placing a bean bag in the space to use for reading books.
When possible, set up the study area in a room that is not your child’s bedroom or play area. Try to locate the study space in an area that is quiet, with few distractions when your child is trying to work.
2—Remove distractions while working.
Keep toys and games away from the study station, unless these are used as part of the learning process. Store relevant toys, games, and other materials on a bookshelf or in bins that you use for storage.
Keep only the items that are needed to accomplish a task on the table while students are working. This can also mean keeping the study area phone-free and laptop or tablet-free, unless these items are needed.
3—Stay organized.
Use bins and canisters to store supplies like books, educational toys and games, crayons and markers, and other items that can be helpful for doing schoolwork.
Hang a calendar on the wall that older students can use to keep track of when important assignments are due.
4—Find ways to make learning fun.
Use educational toys and games that may help your child to learn. Examples include puzzles, puppets, models, and props. An oversized bean bag chair can make a fun and cozy place to read or work on assignments (use a lap desk to help hold books or assignments).
5—Highlight your child’s accomplishments.
Make sure to have a space where you can post your student’s accomplishments and mark milestones. Hang artwork, post good grades, display awards, and show off good things that your child has done.
Homework Station Supplies & Decor Ideas
Here are some ideas on how to decorate a study area and supplies that can be useful in this type of space.
1—Table
Include a table to sit at while doing homework, arts and crafts, or other learning activities.
2—Chairs
Place chairs at the table. It can also be fun to include other types of chairs for lounging and reading or completing assignments on a tablet.
3—Bookcase
A small bookcase can be useful for storing books and other learning tools. Be sure to secure the bookcase, so that it doesn’t tip over.
4—Bean Bag Chair
A children’s bean bag chair can make a comfortable place for children to read books or work on assignments. Be sure to choose a chair that fits your child’s size and age.
5—Educational Posters
Educational posters can be a great way to decorate a study space and to provide interesting facts and figures to learn, too.
6—Decor Signs
Find a fun sign to use to decorate the study space. This could include hanging a welcome sign or putting a nameplate up on the wall.
7—Hanging Pocket File Folders
File folders are great for organizing children’s work assignments by topic. Hanging pocket file folders can be a great space-saving solution when it comes to storing file folders to hold worksheets, essays, printouts, and other important documents.
8—Basic School Supplies
The school supplies that you need for a study space will vary from student to student, but here are a few basics that may help to get you started.
9—Storage Bins
Storage bins are perfect for storing all the items that you need for a specific project in one place. For example, you could designate a storage bin to hold the items that you need to do a certain type of art project or perform a specific science experiment.
10—Pencil Boxes
Pencil boxes are perfect for storing pencils, sharpeners, pens, markers, paint brushes, and other writing and drawing supplies.
11—Washi Tape
Washi tape is great to use for decorating bulletin boards and hanging kid’s artwork and photos to make a space more creative and colorful.
12—Book Bins
Book bins are great for organizing books and readers, especially by subject, topic, or student.
13—Folders
Folders are a must have for keeping papers and documents organized.
You can use folders to put together assignments for homeschooling, and also use folders to store completed assignments that you want to review. The folders can then be put in backpacks to return to school the next day.
Colorful folders can be used to organize papers by topic or subject, and labels are great for marking what is stored in each folder.
14—Picture Books
Younger readers can learn much from colorful picture books that catch their interest while providing small amounts of information about different topics.
15—Caddies
Caddies are great for holding a things like a large collection of pencils, crayons, or markers, bottles of glue, rulers, and other school supplies.
16—Labels
Labels are a must have for organizing storage bins, folders, containers, and other supplies for a homework station.
If more than one child uses the homework station, then labels can be good for helping to keep each child’s supplies organized (i.e. helping to keep the peace) in their own storage bins and organizers.
17—Maps
Maps of the world can be a great way to decorate a study space, and they can also be used as an educational tool or resource to help students learn geography.
18—Timer
A timer can be used to help track your child’s study time, reading time, and screen time. It’s a great tool to break the day up into work time and free time—for example, allowing older students a 5 minute long phone break after 40 minutes of studying or reading.
19—Science Kits
Science kits make it easy to help teach your kids science lessons at home.
20—Noise Cancelling Headphones
Noise cancelling headphones can be good to have when your home is especially noisy. Some kids can benefit from the quieting effect that these types of headphones may have.
21—Storage Bins with Lids
Keep storage bins with lids handy for storing small items, like beads and other craft supplies. They are also good for keeping your own “study helper” supplies—like writing pens and adult-sized scissors—ready to go when your assistance is needed at the homework station.
22—Rolling Cart
Rolling carts can be helpful for organizing school supplies or other items that your child uses to learn and study. You can also designate a cart for different topics or uses, such as having a cart for art supplies, science supplies, or a mobile library.
23—Clipboard
Sometimes a clipboard can be fun to write, draw, or solve problems on. It can make it easier to hold papers in place when your child sits away from the table, like relaxing in a bean bag chair or other cozy chair.
24—Art Supplies
Art supplies are almost always good to have on hand to help kids relax and let them be creative. Drawing, sculpting, and other forms of being creative can help to break up the monotony of the day.
25—Calendar
A dry erase calendar whiteboard can be used to keep track of when important assignments are due.
This post was all about creating a study space at home.
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Credits
- Photos by PNW Production / Pexels, freestocks.org / Pexels, and Element5 Digital / Unsplash
- Photos are for illustrative purposes only.