After school can seem to get a little crazy around our house. I have tried to put some routines in to place to help make things run a little smoother, but definitely the most helpful thing for us is to have everything needed to get homework done in one location. In our old house I actually had a homework station set up in our basement, but found that having it down stairs away from the rest of the house was not very functional for us. So now we have the space to let the kids do their work on the main floor of the house so I have a drawer in our kitchen buffet that is dedicated to homework supplies.
No one ever has to ask where a pencil is or go searching for a ruler. Everything they need is right here. I still have young kiddos going through school so crayons are still a part of our homework routine, and I also keep extra erasers, glue sticks, tape, and scissors. In the back of the drawer I also stash some flash cards and a set of pretend money to help kiddos as they are learning about that.
It certainly is not a fancy set up, but it sure does make things run a little easier at time to study! Now, speaking of homework, I am off to make sure these kiddos are getting theirs done!