While we all enjoyed the movie, The Greatest Showman; no one enjoys the chaos of the 3-Ring Circus that comes when the kids are heading back to school.
As I write this, we don’t even know what back to school is going to look like this August. We will have to be more prepared than ever before if we need to manage kids in school part of the time while completing schoolwork at home the rest of the time. Here are some tips to help you avoid the 3-Ring Circus to keep your family organized and happy.
Use your space well:
- Prepare your home for success, pick up your space so it is not cluttered and messy. Monday – Friday are school days so set your family up for production; classrooms don’t have blankets and dirty dishes scattered around so neither should your home.
- Have a designated area for activities. For example, use the kitchen table for one activity, the kitchen island for another, and create a cozy space for a reading nook. Think through the different activities that your child completes at school, don’t forget lunch and recess.
- Create separation between functions and spaces; to succeed we need systems, rhythms and patterns to follow. It creates a change of scenery while they are doing homework, so they don’t get bored. This also lets parents know what task they are working on depending upon which space they are in, so we don’t need to hover.
Space conscious furniture:
- Repaint an old dresser a fun new color and place it in the area of your home that typically gets congested with shoes, bookbags, jackets, etc. This creates additional storage and updates the space without spending much money. Check out some amazing ideas on Pinterest to get your creativity flowing.
- Lap trays – These are often used in elementary school classrooms, instead of desks. They have plenty of storage so your child can keep all their supplies in one place and everything can be tucked away when the homework or project is completed.
- Wall mounted desks – With more people being in “production” mode inside the home, consider furniture made specifically for smaller spaces. There are many to choose from online and are easy to install. Small ones work well for kids because they mainly use Chromebooks and tablets, though larger ones allow more surface space to spread things out. When the work is done, they fold up against the wall to free up the space for other activities.
- TV trays – These are great for creating a desk area that can be easily moved around, then folded up and put away when they are not being used. They can also be tucked in a corner so they are out of the way as a semi-permanent desk, or they can be used at the sofa as a comfy place to sit while being productive.
Make more rooms:
- Use a closet that is being underutilized to create space for a desk. This could be a closet in your child’s room, an entry coat closet or even a linen closet. We often have so many things in our closets that are never used, so store those things or give them away to create a fun nook for a desk area.
- Use a room divider to break up a room into multiple spaces. They also reduce the lines of sight when working or relaxing to create separation, allowing you to stay present with the task at hand.
