To help kids do their homework (and not be on a scavenger hunt for supplies), set up a portable homework center. You could use a tackle box or portable file box. Be sure to include all those necessary tools for homework such as glue, scissors, markers, tape, calculator, extra paper, pencils and the like. With a portable box, when it is time for dinner, you can simply put all the items back in and clear off the dining room table. The portability also helps when you have multiple children or if they like to do their homework in different spaces.
- Cynthia Hoftiezer of Organized Solutions

Having the kitchen double as a homework center is a great idea. Enabling the kids to do their homework while I prepare Let’s Dish! dinners helps me keep close tabs on what they are learning, where they need help and, most importantly, it keeps the lines of communication open.

At the end of the day kids come in the door, go straight to the counter in the kitchen and open their bags and unload their books. They complete their assignments and then help each other study for tests and quizzes and review the day’s class notes. We play a game where they review their daily class notes by pretending they are the teacher and they are testing the others in the room. Being smarter than a 5th grader is harder than you know! When they are done and dinner is just about ready, they pack up their books and bags and put them back into the car. This helps reduce the morning stress too.