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Your child’s world is a busy one, and after spending a day at school, one of the last things they want to do is sit down and crank out some A+ homework.
But, it’s unavoidable, so what can you do to make things a little better, a little more fun, and a little more productive?
Create a proper, engaging homework space, of course!
Whatever room of the home you call your child’s homework space, there are a few things you can do to make the room more engaging and productive. This can help them stay productive and can even encourage your children to get stuck in their homework.
Ready for some ideas? Let’s get stuck into the:
Seven easy ways to create a homework space your child will love!
#1 - Use Beautiful Visuals
One of the best and easiest ways to engage your children and make learning more fun is to use visuals throughout your dedicated homework space. We’re talking about all those beautiful things like;
- Maps of the world
- Pictures of animals
- Star constellation maps
- Math timetables
- Science posters, like periodic tables
- Fun quotes or fact sheets
- Worksheets and home tracking tables
It really doesn’t matter what your children are into or what kind of subject is their favorite, there’s plenty of media out there that can get them excited to learn.
What’s more, any content you put up can be educational and improve their learning even more.
Studies show that putting posters up is so effective at grabbing the attention of your children, can boost focus and motivation, and 65% of people find this kind of visual learning more effective than any other learning type, so don’t ignore this fantastic learning tool!
#2 - Create a Family Co-working Space
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, more parents than ever are working remotely or from home. If you fall into this bracket, it may be an excellent idea to not just have your office and your child’s homework space, but bring the two together to create a beautiful family co-working space.
You already know how your children look up to you and mimic what you do, which can easily be applied to work. If you have both your child’s and your work set up next to each other, it creates a more motivating environment to get things done.
This idea of having a proper workspace in the house that everyone can use will help get your children in the zone.
Yes, we know what you’re thinking;
This could so quickly go wrong and be super distracting, but this doesn’t have to be the case. Instead, experiment to see what works for your family.
For example, you could use a Pomodoro technique to work for 30 to 50 minutes and have a ten-minute break. This way, everyone knows when it’s work time and when it’s playtime, and it can drastically improve focus levels!
Try it and see if it works for you!
#3 - Make the Desk Fun
It’s quite simple.
If your child’s desk is boring and bland, they’re not going to want to spend a lot of time there, thus, the homework doesn’t get done.
Sure, if you have loads of toys and fun stuff on the desk, then there’s definitely not going to be a lot of homework getting done, but this isn’t necessarily the case.
It’s all about finding the right balance between being engaging and productive.
For example, if your child absolutely loves race cars, take time to find and buy or even build and paint a desk styled as a race car. Kit it out with racing seats and a dashboard, even if the design is simple, and it can be incredibly effective at getting them to sit down and stay down.
#4 - Create a Dedicated Reading Area
We all know every house needs a good reading nook where you can get stuck into your favourite novels and hide away from the world for a little while to refresh and unwind. Your kids’ lives are just as stressful and busy, so there’s no reason their reading experience shouldn’t be the same.
Creating a reading nook doesn’t have to be complicated. Just find a nice, perhaps slightly hidden away space with enough room for one or two people, make it comfy, make it quiet, and design it to be relaxing.
Some things you could use to bring it to life include;
Bean bags
Colourful posters
Duvets and cushions
A speaker for playing soft background music
A bookshelf for all the books
Colourful curtains
Lots of natural lighting
Soft lamps for night reading
Fairy lights
Create a custom theme for the nook
Get creative and get your kids involved in the design process!
There’s a lot of fun to be had here, and it’s so beneficial to their learning to read more!
#5 - Get Rid of the Clutter
Sometimes, it’s not about what you can add to a space to improve it but rather what you can take away, which is essential when it comes to homework spaces. There’s nothing more distracting than trying to work in a messy room, so make things nice and easy on yourself and have a clean-up.
Make sure the room is always clear from toys and distractions before work begins (ideally the day before, so you don’t have to run the risk of being distracted while tidying up), and maybe even use this time to have a proper sort-through of what you want and don’t want.
Come up with some creative storage options to take things to the next level.
Perhaps bigger toys and games can go in one area, and maybe have a dedicated box of toys that your kids can play with once they’re on a break or have finished the task they were working on.
Either way, keep things clean and tidy to focus on the work itself.
There’s no reason why homework can’t be fun. It’s usually just the fact that other things seem more fun in comparison.
#6 - Encourage Natural Lighting
While this doesn’t tend to make homework spaces more fun, it’s still an important point to touch on.
Natural light is so crucial in all aspects of life.
When natural light enters your eyes, it activates specific systems in your brain that keep you awake, makes your blood flow, and will put your mind and body in a state of engagement and focus, and this is precisely what you need to get homework done.
If you can, try to maximize the amount of natural light that gets into your child’s homework space. The best way to do this is by getting close to an openable window, but if you can set up a homework space outside, then this can take things to a whole new level and is a lot of fun when done right.
#7 - Bring Your Child’s Personality into the Space
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, get your kid’s personality into the space!
It’s easy to forget this point, but if your child isn’t engaged in the space, they’re not going to want to spend any time there! We touched on this with our example of a race car desk, but if there’s something in this world your children love, combine it with the homework space to encourage them to get active here.
If your daughter loves unicorns and the homework space isn’t known as the Unicorn Kingdom, then you haven’t even scratched the surface of what your kid’s homework space could be!
A child's homework room or space should be playful and clutter-free, encouraging your child to be excited about doing their homework. With these few simple ways, you will be able to transform a space beautifully for your child. By incorporating playful posters, and colours, and adding their personality into the space, while also remembering to remove any unnecessary clutter, you will create a fun-filled homework space.
Homework Rooms are part of the Interior Design Trends for this year (2022).