Oh my goodness, as a teacher this is one of my favorite times of year.  This year, like last year, I will be sitting it out.  Being a stay at home mom is incredibly rewarding, but I will be honest, I miss seeing my “kids” and that first day of school, that feeling when all is new and possibilities are endless.

With that said, this is a big year for us. The Petite has started kindergarten!  Words cannot even begin to describe how I felt sending her off that first day.  She has been my co-pilot for the last year and it is a strange feeling to not have her around during the day.  Good news is that she loves her new school, friends and teacher.  Yay!

I don’t like kindergarten, I LOVE kindergarten!

These were the petite’s words on the first day of school.  I am in love with her enthusiasm and joy for learning.  One thing that as a mom, who happens to be a teacher, is that there are a few recommendations I would make on back to school night that now I actually get to do myself.  The first one is setting up a homework station or area.

This is something that will save time, stress and headaches in the weeks to come.  Having an area where all of the items you need to complete assignments helps students to be responsible and organized.  It shows them that homework and learning are important and gives them an area or place where doing homework is the expectation.  Can you tell I’ve talked about this to parents before?

A homework area varies greatly depending on the age of the student.

Pre-K through 2nd grade:

White computer paper, ruler, eraser, glue stick, pencils, crayons, highlighters, scissors, writing paper and a timer for tracking reading times (I just use my phone).  Items that can be helpful but aren’t necessary: dry erase board and markers, and whiteout.

3rd grade – 5th grade

White computer paper, ruler, eraser, glue stick, pencils, pens, markers, crayons, highlighters, whiteout, scissors, binder paper, dictionary and a timer.

Middle School

Binder paper, pens, pencils, calculator, dictionary, highlighters, post its.

High School

Yikes, I’m guessing its been years since you’ve been able to convince your teen to do homework out in the open….and they’ve made it this far so…keep up the good work.  🙂

 

Now is a great time to get all of these items, because they are still on sale.  The critical part to all of this is to have something to hold it in so that it is easy to access.  One of my main goals for recommending these things is  to make doing homework less of a scavenger hunt and more so a learning experience.  Starting a routine around when homework is done, also where it is done is so helpful.  If there is a routine it helps kids to be accountable even kindergarteners.  After all, kids love routine, even if they tell you otherwise.

I hope this helps ease you back into the school year, start a homework routine and have stress free nights while helping the kids get homework assignments completed.

Erin