Heart of the Homework

Most afternoons we find ourselves in the kitchen together, snacking, chatting, cooking and completing homework. My kids prefer to do their homework at the kitchen table, rather than at their desks in their bedrooms. I'd like to think they want to be close to me, but they probably just want to be close to the pantry. But for whatever reason, here we converge just about every day.

At the beginning of the school year, I put together this homework caddy, so that they would have all of the supplies they need for their homework and school projects at hand. It helps them be more independent, and it helps me because my meal preparation is less interrupted by constant badgering...MOM! Where is the [fill in the school supply here]?

I found a silverware caddy with a nice antique finish at Home Goods that fits my pint size mason jars perfectly. There is also room for larger containers that hold everything from rulers to glue guns. Yes glue guns. I don't know about your kids, but mine get an outrageous amount of projects to be completed at home. Everything is neatly labeled, so the kids can even clean up after themselves. In theory. Ahem.

Gotta have all sorts of glue....



Some watercolors tucked in the side....Time to replace, I think!



Must have magic erasers...they truly are magic.



One jar for scissors and other tools, one for colored pencils, one for pens, and one for freshly sharpened pencils. In the back I have a large container for glue, one for rulers and angles, tape and erasers, and I've also tucked in a much-used stapler. I also usually have white index cards (but we just ran out) so that the kids can make flash cards or vocabulary cards as needed. And if your kids ever get "bored" a great activity for them is to make sure all the colored and regular pencils are sharpened.




On the wall next to the kitchen table, we have some "wall pockets," one for each child and one for me. This is where they store extra paper (plain, graph and lined) as well as their homework folders. I'd show you a picture of those, but they are an over-flowing disaster. Guess what I'm doing today?

How do you organize your homework area?