DIY: Making a place for students

By Kim Ode
(Minneapolis) Star Tribune

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Ben Franklin once said that nothing is certain but death and taxes, but students know that homework runs a strong third.

"Work" gets most of the attention, but "home" also plays an important role, and may even enhance a student's skills with some thought given to creating a consistent and efficient place for books and brains to come together.

The U.S. Department of Education notes that students do best when they know that their parents and adults close to them think homework is important. One way is to provide a special, pleasant place for that work.

A successful homework center should reflect the student's age and learning style, but also jibe with the family's routine.

Here are some tips for creating a homework center:

• Scout out a kitchen corner or a small closet to convert, or look for a window niche to retrofit in the kitchen. Install a countertop across it, then buy a file cabinet on wheels.

• If you have a simple desk area in the kitchen, add a cork wall covering using tiles or sheets, with plenty of push pins to post schedules, good grades or quick references for math and grammar.

• Fabric-covered bulletin boards add a punch of color, as does a small lamp with a fabric shade.

• Build enthusiasm for homework with a few affordable amenities for younger children: the fish-shaped stapler, the monster pencil sharpener that chomps as it works and — the ultimate status symbol for youngsters — the 120-count box of Crayola crayons.

• If the homework center is in the kitchen, you can make dinner and use recipes as a way to stealthily incorporate math — reading recipes together and working on fractions with slices of cake, for instance — which can double as a reward for an A-plus effort.

• If the homework center has some room to spare, adults can act as role models by doing their homework there as well, such as writing checks or filling out forms while their children are doing homework.