Setting-up and Organizing your Home school Space

The popularity of home schooling has risen in recent times as more and more parents choose this unconventional way of educating their children. All the more attention it gained when the COVID pandemic pushed for a less face to face interaction. Other schools have gone the digital way with their classroom sessions being done online.

Whether you are deep in home schooling or you are one of those affected by the pandemic and does online learning for your kids, there is one thing that you and your kids need. You need a space that’s conducive for learning.

So, how do you set up your homeschool space? And, how do you organize it?

Do you need a spare room?

Having a spare room is the most ideal situation when you are in need of a homeschool space. You can restrict the use of this room such that it will be used only for homeschooling. You will create that going-to-school mindset in your kids when you have a separate room where they do their classes. But not all have the luxury of extra spaces in their homes. Would that mean that the online learning of your kids will not be effective? It doesn’t necessarily follow.

What you need is the right space. You can use any room of your house like the dining room or the living room. Then, you can set-up the home school.

Clear a Surface for School Work

In a traditional classroom setting, most students have their own desks. At home, it would be great if you can provide a desk in the space you designated as the home school. Or, to save you less time and effort to move tables and chairs, then assign your dining room as your home school. Your kids’ work can be spread out on the large dining table making it easy for them to do their school work. And, as part of their training, you must make cleaning post-school, a habit for them.

Comfortable Seating

You must remember that your kids would spend more hours in a computer for their online learning. The longer the sessions are, the more restless they become. What can contribute to this restlessness too is discomfort. Thus, it is important that you get your kids comfortable chairs to sit on.

There are a bunch of styles of kids chairs and tables to choose from. Not only that, you should also get yourself a comfortable chair when you need to sit beside your kids.

Have a Homeschool Kit ready

Your kids will not just be listening to their teachers online. They will be given activities which need supplies and other materials. If you have a homeschool kit holding on to the school supplies and other materials then, preparation will not be too tedious.

This could be in a big storage box that you can just pull out whenever classes are about to start. You can also designate a space in your shelf for the text books.

Designing the Space

This will work more effectively when you have that spare room to be made as your home school. You can either make it more like a classroom or go the more creative way. You can put up designs, learning posters and others. You can even put shelves or cabinets where your kids can store their school stuff.

Uncluttered Space

Clutter and disarray can affect the learning environment for your kids. They can get easily distracted when their eyes fall on some toys or some interesting stuff. If you want your kids to give focus on learning from you or from their teachers online, clear up all the clutter. In this way, nothing can keep their eyes away from you when you teach or away from the computer

Expand the Home School Outside

If you don’t have a spare room and the weather is such that you need to get a change of scenery then consider your outside spaces. We are talking about your porch, deck or patio. You might also have a hanging balcony from the second floor. These are potential home school spaces. If the weather is very warm then let your kids learn outside where they can feel the gentle breeze.

You can even go further such as the park (as long as it’s not too noisy and crowded)

Know your Students’ Desires

We sometimes stick to our notion that “parents know best” There could be some truth to this especially if you, as a parent, have been through a lot in life. You also may have a lot of experiences that you can gain wisdom from. However, you must also remember that your kids know what they need. You can go and ask your kids what would be more helpful to them in learning. After all, you’re doing this more for them and less for you.