Turning our spare room into a homework haven was a change born out of the need to try something new. Completing homework has been a source of stress for Katrine for quite some time and Elspeth’s arrival last school year intensified the situation as did the concussion. She needs me near her as a source of calm and but so does Elspeth. She will rarely chose to play in another room. Instead she will select a toy and then bring it to use in the room I am in (e.g., she will push Barbie on her motorcycle in the kitchen while I cook).  We had been using the kitchen with Elspeth’s supplies stored in a cupboard and Katrine’s in a desk (hey, it seemed logical at the time). They could never find pencils or simply HAD to get up in order to get such-and-such. Plus, there are always the possibility of snack distractions in the kitchen. All of this added up to more stress.
The spare room had been used as a toy room in an attempt to keep the toys in a central location where there could be a mess without it driving me crazy on a daily basis. Unfortunately, we began to move things downstairs this past fall as Elspeth became more interested in games and puzzles. Plus, we have begun using our fireplace and it is quite nice to have a game or puzzle to use in front of the dancing flames. Very soothing but it translated into more clutter which in turn added to homework stress.
Something had to change. Could moving the toys to the unused diningroom actually cause them to be used more (yes because the girls can now play with them while still being close to mom)? Could storing all of the games, etc downstairs give us access to them on fire days while decreasing the tendancy to clutter? Yes! Now, what to do with the room? When Glenn suggested that a designated homework space that was not the kitchen might help decrease Katrine’s stress over homework; the plan for the backroom was born.
And so I give you our new homework room. Today, Katrine had to do writing and then edit said writing. No whining, complaining or pouting!! Done in 15 minutes with a five minute break to watch the fish. At the same time, Elspeth worked on her cutting skills and I left the whole experience without a headache. Yippee!
Cheerful yet calm.
Craft supplies? In a drawer. Stickers? The box. Paper? Easily accessible. You would think that I would have thought of this earlier being a teacher and all. Both girls have already gotten items from the shelves and sticker box, used them and then tidied up. 
Katrine’s desk is painstakingly organized. Pencils in the nutcracker. Sharpeners in the white box. Erasers in the blue case. Stuffies to hug in frustration and flowers for colour. Yup, training her to be a wee bit anal but if it makes homework time easier it is worth it.
I also took a page from my classroom and hung up anchor charts to help with her editing. Easy to see so that she may actually use them.
Here is Elspeth’s “desk”. She has her own crayon sharpener, pencil case for pencils and kitty for erasers. Plus her own anchor chart. Both girls like to cuddle up in blankets so I made sure that each one had their own dedicated blanket.
I put an old bookcase on the far side of the room to hold some of Elspeth’s educational toys along with Katrine’s science kits (we have experience with kits getting lost). I also re-used those old diaper wipe containers to organize the writing utensils. Did I already mention how over the top organized it all is? It seems to be working though. The girls have finally being using the giant colouring books that they got for Christmas and have consistently tidied up the markers, crayons, etc afterwards. The downside is that I now have to go our and buy markers because they have realised that many aren’t working. 🙂
The fish were our last addition. The girls chose guppies. I have always found watching fish soothing so it seemed logical to have some in a homework room to try and help decrease some stress. Yup, these little fish are gonna work for their food by decreasing mommy’s stress.If this continues to help it might just be the best decorating decision we have ever made!