Many children are given their own desk in the nursery when they start school and are very proud of it. For some, it is the ideal place to study. Others, on the other hand, let themselves be “called” too quickly by their toys in the children’s room. …
Then consider this: Could your child move to another table? The dining room table, for example, or a table in your home office? Or can his desk move to another place? To the master bedroom, the hallway, or the living room?
It should remain the desk? Then place the desk so that your child has a boring view. So rather not directly in front of the window or next to the Playmobile table. Maybe in front of the bare wall? Nevertheless, make sure that there is good lighting, if necessary with the help of a desk lamp.
Maybe it helps your child to concentrate on learning if he or she can no longer see other things. Then create a kind of cave for him. Maybe with some kind of partition by a curtain or a canopy?
Your child doesn’t like to be alone when doing homework? Then there are perhaps the following possibilities:
Your child could work with siblings at the same table. A desk divider can ensure a smooth process without distracting each other. Also, agree on hand signals or whisper tones when it comes to questions.
Have your child work near you. At a folding table in the kitchen while you cook. At the dining room table while you go about your chores on the laptop, write the grocery list or read the newspaper. At a second table in the home office while you work. In the living room, while you do the housework. In his room, while you’re there ironing. It’s important to remember that when you’re near your child, ideally you’ll be doing a quiet task that doesn’t make a lot of noise and doesn’t involve a lot of movement. Answering emails, hanging or folding laundry, ironing, chopping vegetables for dinner…. Phone calls, smartphone use, radio or television, for example, could distract your child.
Last but not least, be flexible and open to seemingly unusual places to study. Maybe on a nice summer week, your child feels like doing homework in the tree house or on the patio. Or he may want to put the daily 10 minutes of reading on the car ride to the school bus. Maybe he can work just fine standing up at the ironing board or kitchen counter or lying down on the carpet- why not? As long as the writing remains legible…. 😉
And remember: preferences can change. So it’s good if you don’t hold on to old routines rigidly, but are willing to try out new things.