This article, sponsored by Crispy Green, originally appeared on Fresh Mommy Blog and has been republished with the author’s permission. All opinions are the author’s own.
Save yourself from headaches and stress on homework nights with a simple, and portable, homework station! Add in some healthy snacks, a plethora of school supplies and you’ve got a recipe for a successful night of conquering the homework beast and a clutter free school season.
Can you believe we’ve already almost danced our way through summer?! We’re in the final stretches of summer’s last song and I’m soaking in every last beat that I can! While the whole family is still swaying to the rhythm of the summer months, I’m also simultaneously prepping for a new school year ahead. The barrage of school supplies, backpacks, back-to-school clothes and all the deliciously scented (yes I love the scent of office supplies) and adorable stationary goods are packed into the nooks of just about every store reminding me of the impending school calendar upon us.Â
So, yes, while we’re still splashing in the pool every chance we get and letting bedtime stretch far into the night, we’re also getting prepped and ready for the upcoming school season. While my kids haven’t officially started school work yet, we’ve pulled out a few pages here and there to get their minds, and pencil fingers, ready. Another addition we’ve made to the house? A simple, portable homework station! This is something I’m really excited about… and so far the kids are too! The great thing is that it can double as a craft station, snack station, homeschool station and so much more. With a larger family, everyone likes to gather in our kitchen around the counter, or even at our farmhouse table, and while I love that everyone can be together… I don’t love toting around little piles of homework essentials. With our homework station, it can roll with us wherever we gather, and then can roll right back to it’s storage place when we’re through.Â
Read on to see how you can make your own productive and portable DIY homework station in minutes with a cart, a few storage baskets, and some school-ready essentials.
It’s great to start with a sturdy portable shelf. I love this rolling steel storage rack, since it’s large enough to hold what we need and still small enough to not take up too much space.
Next come the necessities. Load up with supplies that you know your students will need when they’re home. Pencils, crayons or colored pencils, glue, paper, paints, etc. I know that right now we’re all purchasing all the goods needed for the school room, but if you can, get a few extra things for home, or raid your own family craft supply for the goods (that’s what I did!)
I like using a couple of solid storage bins for the things I don’t necessarily want on display, like scrap papers, old school books and notebooks, etc. For the rest though, grab some clear canisters and let the kids see what’s available to them.Â
Another thing that really helps make my kids happy little worker bees… snacks! Seriously, they’re much happier to sit and work through their workbooks with a snack in front of them. And really, they’re much happier anywhere we go with a snack in hand, which is why it’s become important to me to have some healthy options at the ready. For our homework station, I felt the same, keeping a little stash of snacking incentives for them, and something that I’d be happy for them to nibble on.
We all LOVE fruit in our family, and usually try to have a variety of fresh options to choose from, but I have to say, it’s not always the most convenient option, especially when I’m in the middle of answering questions for one little and another one needs a fruit sliced up. Recently we found Crispy Green, and it’s been our new favorite snack of choice! Everyone has their own favorite flavor (we’ve totally tried them ALL!), and I knew it was a perfect addition to our homework station, let alone my kids lunches for the season. The kids can grab just what they want and get to work while I can stay in one place, for a little while anyway, helping someone with their work. It’s all part of the ebb and flow of motherhood, the give and take, and it makes me so happy to find companies that are filling in the gaps with solutions that can make our loads lighter and choices easier. For me, choosing sliced fruit with no added sugar, sweeteners or preservatives is a no-brainer! The fact that my kids love them and think of them as their new favorite chip option and a quick snack is the icing on the proverbial cake.
While the homework station has already been used and loved by us, we’ll be giving it a real test run come the start of the school season! Have you created or used a homework station in your house before? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
– By Tabitha Blue, Fresh Mommy Blog