Homework Station!

Another great project that came from Family Fun Magazine! We made these dividers for the kitchen table. Although the boys have desks in their rooms, they are not ready for independent work. My kindergartner and my second grader at the table for homework was becoming a zoo. The older one would answer questions for the younger and the younger one would "bug" the older with faces, noises, etc.

I decided to let the boys be part of the construction process, both to keep them busy one weekend and also so that they'd be more inclined to use them. They therefore do not look as "perfect" as the magazine pic, but the boys love them!

They were such a hit that they had me make up homework for them to try out the boards on a Sunday afternoon. Then the kinder did not have homework again for a few nights so I had to make up more homework!

Tips:

• I asked my husband to cut the project board in half, but I was not specific and he did not create too equal parts (which is what I thought half meant :)
• I went to Walmart thinking that they would be cheaper than the office supply store for the board. Then when we went to the dollar store that evening because we forgot clothes pins...the dollar store had the boards and many of the accessories much cheaper :(

Materials:

1. tri-fold project board - any color
2. magnets with stickum or velcro sticky dots
3. office supplies
4. paint or contact paper
5. excato knife to cut one board into two boards

Process:

1. cut trifold board in half horizontally
2. score the cardboard 1" inward from the folding corners to make storage easier
   
3. paint or cover the board
4. attach stationary items

We were going to buy poster paints but forgot, so I let the boys spray paint the boards out in the grass with some paint we had for boyscout projects. I then used contact paper on the back since the back of the project board had writing on it. I used mostly sticky dots to attach items. The instructions said to use magnets, but either my magnets were not strong enough or my scissors were too heavy!

The clips on the left can be used to hang spelling lists, etc. My younger son has an alphabet sheet so he can check how to write certain letters. I also used a large magnetic clip for possibly a calendar or other work. The pencil boxes slide open and worked perfectly. For my older one I used magnets that had the days of the week in case we needed reminders for certain days. The stars are sticky note pads. The metal bars are actually metal rulers also attached with velcro. I was able to find poster letters that I used to make their names.

Both boards have rulers, magnets, note pads, pencil sharpeners, scissors, glue sticks and pencil boxes. The older student has a calculator too! We use a bucket of crayons and a cup of markers so I didn't feel the need to attach those items.

Enjoy the project idea! (Family Fun Magazine Sept. 2009 issue)