One of my New Years resolutions is to have a more organized house and make it easier to keep everything organized. We have a kindergartener, a boxer, and a cat. Between them and my wife and I it seems like a full time job keeping everything tidy.

On of the bigger things is my daughters arts and crafts and school work. She doesn’t have a desk anywhere so it usually ends up on the living room floor or the kitchen table. Thinking it is time for her to get a desk, I’m just not sure where to put it. We have a den that has my wife and my shared desk and some cabinets. It could go in there, or we could put it in her bedroom. From a spade perspective it is easier to put it in her bedroom, but as a family we don’t spend any time in the upstairs where the bedrooms are at. She usually grabs toys and plays downstairs where we are at. Then again, there are less distractions upstairs and it is quieter.


So what do you guys do?

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C(-)ris
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Our two kids, boy and girl, plus friends hung out in our finished basement where the Macs also hung out as well as the TV. No pets.

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

Our daughter did her homework in our den near my wife and me. She also tended to play near us when she was young. We had a playroom in the basement and we'd all go down there sometimes, but more commonly in the den or our bedroom. She did very little except sleep in her bedroom since she was the only one upstairs.

Our daughter, when she was young, bounced between her bedroom, the kitchen table, or our living room. Now that she's a teen, she uses her bedroom, and, unfortunately, her bed. We're trying to get her to develop a habit of using her desk, but she tends to use that for storage.

C(-)ris,

I can only speak from my own experiences as a child. Homework was done at the kitchen table or dining room table. Kitchen table was the first option unless it was time for a meal. Then homework moved to the dining room table.

My brothers and I played in the den. Occasionally in the basement but usually the den. IF not the den, then outside. My parents were big believers in kids spending lots of time outdoors be it on the front lawn or up at the local park and ball field. 'course, this was in the 70s and 80s.

Little M is growing up in a very different world and, since we live in an apartment, we have much less space. She's too young for homework but, when that time comes, she'll likely do it at the kitchen table. Playtime is usually in the living room, outside on the ginormous front lawn of the building or at the local park. We focus on sleep and rest when Little M is in her bedroom.

Robert

I did very little homework when I was a kid (grades 1-12). I usually finished whatever homework I had really fast, i always had a desk in my own room. Then out I went and came back at night.

My girls are 14.5 and 11.8, and real "homework" didnt start until the 6th grade.

When they were younger, it was at the kitchen table (no seperated dining room) until dinner. They had desks, but always had questions, so easier if we were closer to answer them, vs us come in the room all the time.

As time has gone on, they have moved to their rooms, unless its a large poster type project that needs a bigger table. Partially because homework is online, or they just dont need our help anymore. Theres also studying, which is different than homework. They use their rooms for the quiet.

We have always had rules about when homework has to start (5 PM) and no late night last minute homework. We do dinner later than some, usually 630-730, or even 8.

So far no issues. Although where they study is only anecdotal to their performance, (and Im braggin here) the oldest is a school nut, an A+ student, with all her teachers praising her, won the "math" award in the 7th grade and has had other responsibilities only a few other students are given. Youngest has all As, so doing fine, but suffering from the "your sister was awesome" syndrome.

One other thing we did -- bought real "wood" desks on CL then painted them. Gives the room a more soild feel than a rickety ikea desk. Instead of regular paint, use chalk paint. No pre sanding required. One coat is usually enough, then wax, then buff with a sanding square and it finishes with a super nice smooth finish.

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Edited 999 time(s). Last edit at 12:08PM by jdc.

C(-)ris,
There is good advice here. My experience for homework is similar to my kids. We have them work at the kitchen table/coffee table/island in their younger years and they can migrate to their room to work as long as they get their work done. They have a desk in their room. My oldest is in his 3rd year of college. Computer Engineering major, straight A’s this semester. He did have some issues his freshman year in high school. His door had to be removed and he worked on the dining room table to get his work done. But he learned we are serious about school. My second oldest is in high school. Sophomore year, working hard to get 4.0 or higher GPA cumulative while in Cross country running and now on the track team. He has seen his brothers failures and learned from them. As for playing, back yard, front yard, friends/cousins house, inside, or local parks. I didn’t/haven’t pushed my kids into extra out of school activities/sports. My second oldest was in a type of karate during the week, his mom signed him up for that. So I had to take him when he was with me. That was during middle school, he no longer goes.

Homework started at the kitchen table, and a rolling set of drawers contained various paper and pencils and art supplies for years. Eventually they migrated to desks in their own rooms, but the kitchen was homework center if you needed help from Mom or Dad.

My son is 13 and my daughter 9. Each kid has a small dedicated drawer in the kitchen area to keep schoolwork that gets emptied when full. Of course they also store all kinds of non-school crap there, too, but we try to keep it to a minimum. We have another drawer with shared lined and unlined paper and a caddy with pencils/markers/pens that can be moved around the first floor.

Son gets most of his homework done at school and, if he has it, works either at the counter, kitchen table, or living room (with a laptop). So no real dedicated location.

Daughter has very little homework but loves (LOVES) to craft. She is a tornado of crafting and makes messes all over. She has a desk in her room - the top is a mess and used for storage of stuff that would otherwise land on the floor.

She has a dedicated craft area in the basement that has somewhat worked. It's not actually a fully finished part of the basement but it's dedicated to her. We are about to replace the preschool table with a taller one. Craft supplies are kept in a combination of Ikea Trofast so that she can move it around and a large caddy on her desk (tape/scissors/pens/markers/etc).

For non-daily crafts, like sewing and beading, she has a shelf with storage bins. In theory she takes out one craft at a time and when she's done she puts them back. It works occasionally.

....they say better if it is a 'public' or common space dedicated......you get to observe them and they are more likely to work on it in earnest......

....if in their room, they are more likely to distract themselves......

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

Kitchen table. Mrs. Zealand bought a long desk for them to do their work at a couple of years ago but I then set up a pair of computers for them there. The desk was just asking for a couple of monitors, KBs & mice. So we're back to the kitchen table.

Actually the older one sits in a comfy chair and does his on the Chromebook as many assignments for school are network-based now.