Do you have a productive homework space for your child?
Where your child completes their homework is usually an afterthought.
That’s the wrong approach. As any office worker will tell you, the right setup can make a big difference in productivity. Some of the following suggestions might run against the grain of the status quo. Some will be far from how you yourself studied. But things have changed and our ideas about homework have to shift as well. However, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it. If your student is having success with their method, there’s no need to change.
Put the student right in the middle of the action
Common sense dictates that busy students need peace and quiet to get their work done, and that quiet is available in their rooms. But more than ever, it’s easier to get distracted from the task. You can try making them unplug, but more and more students need their devices to actually do their work.
The solution is to keep the kids in the living room, kitchen, or other high-traffic area where you can keep an eye or ear on them. If it sounds like there’s more texting going on than studying, you will know and can refocus them.
Make the agenda the centerpiece
Students are being trained to keep an agenda with all of their upcoming work in an effort to foster some organization and responsibility. If that’s the case for your child, that agenda needs to be front-and-center in the workspace every day.
This performs two tasks: it obviously makes the agenda readily available to the student so they can refer to it throughout their work time, and it also makes it available to you. If they are in the high-traffic area from the previous suggestion, you can simply look over their shoulder to see what they’ve accomplished and how much further they need to go.
Switch it up!
The beauty of today’s technology is that work can be accomplished anywhere. There have been plenty of studies showing that the right amount of white noise and a change in scenery can provide a boost to productivity, especially after a long period stuck in the same place.
Just as if you were stuck inside your office all day, your child has been stuck in their office—the classroom—as well. Every so often, change the scene and take them out to get their work done at a coffee shop, bookstore, or restaurant. Bring your own work or a magazine with you and just be available to help if they need it. Don’t hover!
Do you have any can’t-miss suggestions for a student workspace? Educate us in the comments below.
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