A new school year has begun or is just about to start, help your student with the right study space. Often kids in elementary school do their homework at the kitchen table while a parent is cooking dinner in case he/she needs help. Once students get to middle school, that isn’t going to work. I am going to say something shocking here that many teachers also believe. Middle school is a great place for students to fail. Let go, let them fail. It is better to fail at 12 or 13 than at 23, 33 or 43. It is a skill we all need to learn. This is also the case even if your student needs more help most. Not exactly professional organizer advice but it is the advice of the mother of three.
Not every kid learns while sitting at a desk or table. Some student like to stand or walk around and some like to sit in bed to be as comfortable as possible. Some kids need silence and some like background noise. Background noise that is beneficial could be just other people in the house; those kids often continue to use the kitchen table, or it could be music. Many kids with ADHD like to listen to music with earphones to block out other distractions. Just no TV or anything like it.
What work for one of your kids will not necessarily work for all of your kids. Like I said, I have three kids all of them earn good grades and are dedicated students but all preferred to do homework differently. One of my twin daughters, who has ADHD, liked to be comfy while working. Sitting a desk all day at school was hard, so at home she sat on top of her made bed with loads of pillows and a portable desk system that she took to college with her this year. My other twin daughter liked to be around people and sometimes needed support (she has Spina Bifida), so she almost always did homework at the kitchen table all the way through high school. My son, who is still in middle school, needs no support with his homework, on the rare occasion he hasn’t finished homework in school, he likes to just do hit on the floor of his room where it is quiet. For bigger projects that need to be done at home, he uses his desk where he lap top sits.
What all student do need to be successful at doing homework is a routine or plan. It starts at school, when your student writes it down in a planner or uses an app on his/her phone to track assignments and homework. Next is when your student puts the homework where it will end up coming home. This could be a section of a binder, it could be a folder, it could be the front of an accordion style binder or whatever other system your child has agreed to use and helped set up. At home, homework should be done at the same time (most or less) every day. I believe students should take a little break, have a snack and do something physical if they weren’t just at a sports practice. Students will also need supplies, anything he/she may need while doing homework should be within arm’s length. Make a list it is longer than you think, extra paper, graph paper, pens, pencils, color pencils, stapler, glue, scissors, three hole punch, calculator, etc. They will also need a storage system for when they are finished with each unit in each subject. Many middle schools and most high schools have finals that cover a semester or whole year. They don’t want to be lugging around a semester’s worth of notes plus that is just asking for a binder to bust. They should be storing study guides, quizzes and tests at the ever least at home that will be used (hopefully) when finals roll around. Lastly is the habit of putting the completed homework where it needs to go to get back to school and turned in. For some students, they may be help and support with learning these steps and new habits. These skills of planning, prioritizing and organizing take time to learn but will become habit in time.