As children begin the new school year, they do so with a sense of excitement, anticipation, and a little angst. You can help ease the transition and encourage the achievement of academic goals by creating a back-to-school workstation filled with all the essentials your child will need to succeed.

Stocked with everything a student needs, this hideaway is an inviting place to pore over homework. Two store-bought bookcases are filled with handy, stay-organized tools like a calendar for upcoming school events, an "in" box for unfinished assignments, and an "out" box for finished homework to be checked by Mom and Dad.

This clever organizational idea is a fun way to plan ahead for the month's activities. Because the calendar is magnetic, you can easily update it when the month changes.

The secret to overcoming writer's block is a pencil so marvelous that you can't help but pick it up and start scribbling. To create one, a kid winds extra-thin tape around a plain pencil, paints it, and then unwraps the tape.

This little office-on-the-go starts with a store-bought wooden artist's supply box outfitted with a slightly larger board for a desktop. Small and light enough for kids to carry, it can be taken on vacation or toted outdoors on a warm afternoon.

Kids go through cereal fast. Make use of all the empty boxes by turning them into handy holders for their desks. Large boxes work well for books, small ones for supplies. Cut box with a utility knife at desired angle and height. Wrap decorative or contact paper around box to see how much you'll need; unwrap and cut. Secure paper with double-sided tape; trim excess.

Using a twist on under-bed storage, the area below a store-bought loft bed becomes a welcoming small-scale study. An adjustable desk is made of painted plywood attached to a homemade wooden frame, which was screwed to the bed's base for stability.

Don't let your child's desktop disappear under piles of paperwork. Inexpensive, unused cans can easily become organizing cubbyholes with a modern, fun flair.

Kids are natural collectors. They love shells and marbles, stamps and coins, even bottle caps. But the things they love needn't end up hidden in drawers. Here are some tips on how to put these collections to good use.

A perfect accessory for the busy student -- or anyone with lots to do -- a bulletin board is just the thing for hanging class schedules, transportation passes, and all sorts of reminders or mementos. This easy technique requires little more than birch plywood, upholstery tacks, and a few lengths of monofilament.

What's an old bear to do when your child begins to trade in stuffed animals for study time? He can become a handsome bookend. Use a seam ripper to open the fabric at the animal's seat. Stuff his bottom with rocks, then resew the seam carefully so no rocks can spill out. At night, when no one is looking, he can catch up on his reading.

Kids are more likely to think "inside" the box, even in a busy room, when a cardboard carton is turned into a personal study center. Cut away the bottom, top, and one long side of a large box; trim the height, then slope the sides. Finish edges with colored duct tape. Clamps, rubber bands, and tacks help organize notes, calendars, and other items on the "walls."

A study space is the ideal spot for a family planner. Six weeks' worth of squares in a variety of shades can accommodate several schedules. Coat the entire wall with chalkboard paint for more memo space!

What may appear at first glance to be an unconventional armoire is actually a set of bookcases attached along one side. Opened, it's a compact, self-contained innovative crafts or office nook. Closed, it's far more decorative than any tidied-up desk, without the slightest hint of its contents.

Get organized -- again and again -- with these chalkboard drawers. The labels can be erased as contents in each drawer change: Affix masking tape in square outlines to fronts of drawers or tins; cover each square with latex chalkboard paint. Let dry, and remove tape. To add a border, place two strips of masking tape parallel to each other on opposite sides of square; paint, let dry, and remove tape. Repeat with two other sides.

These soft, colorful cases are a cheerful way to keep a child's writing utensils in one place.