When you’re homeschooling your children, you may want to set up a designated study area. Sometimes it’s helpful for kids to be able to separate schooling from the rest of their home life, while other kids can focus just fine from the couch or the kitchen table. I recommend having some are that is quiet and separated as a study area. A lot of parents don’t really know where to start with this and that means they make a lot of simple mistakes with their homeschool area which can have a big impact on their child’s ability to learn. When creating a quiet study space for your homeschool, here are 4 important things to consider when creating a homeschool area.
Noise
Noise is a big distraction when you’re trying to teach a lesson so when you’re choosing a room, it’s important that you find somewhere away from any excess noise. Rooms that overlook a busy road, for example, aren’t ideal because the noise of the traffic can be distracting at certain times of the day. Try to use a room that overlooks the back garden if possible, so the outside noise is at a minimum. If you have younger children that aren’t involved in your lessons yet, it’s important that they have a separate area of the house away from the learning area so they don’t distract their siblings.
If noise is a big issue and you don’t have a suitable area in the house where you can get away from any distracting noise, you might have to consider making some changes, like soundproofing. It may cost you a bit of money but it’s a worthwhile investment if it means that your child can learn more effectively. Alternatively, you could invest in some noise canceling headphones for your child to wear when they’re working independently and the noise is becoming too much of a distraction. For my girls, keeping distractions at a minimum is very important when creating a homeschool area.
Furniture Placement
Furniture placement is very important when you’re creating a study area because it has a big impact on the atmosphere in the room. It’s important that your children feel relaxed and the room is a positive space that they enjoy spending time in, and the way that you place the furniture has a big impact on that. Feng shui is an old Chinese concept based around the flow of energy in a room and teaches how to place furniture to create a more positive atmosphere. If you’re making common feng shui mistakes in the room, it can make it a very negative space. Your children won’t be able to learn effectively in a space that doesn’t have a very positive atmosphere so it’s important that you understand the basic concepts of feng shui and follow them closely.
When you’re setting the room up and placing the furniture, you need to think about creating different work zones within the room. Having different work spaces for different aspects of learning creates more variety for your children which helps them to hold their concentration better. For example, you’ll need a few desk areas where they can get their head down and do written work. These are often best placed in a corner where there aren’t too many outside distractions. If you put them in front of a window, for example, your child is more likely to spend time staring out of the window and getting distracted rather than learning. You should also create a different area with some work spaces for crafts and group learning which are separate from the desk areas. These are best placed in the centre of the room where you have a bit more space. When it comes to seating, you should try to use multipurpose seating that you can use for each different work area, otherwise, you’ll be packing the room with too much furniture and it will start to feel cramped and cluttered.
Storage
A messy learning area is never a good thing and it will make it harder for your children to get on with their work and concentrate properly. If you don’t have good storage in your homeschool area, it will quickly get messy, so make sure that you’ve thought about this properly. There are a lot of simple ways that you can add storage to the room. Buying desks with drawers is a good start because your children can keep their workbooks and stationary etc. in their own desk. You should also add a bookcase along one wall if you have the space to do it because that will give you plenty of storage space for all of the books as well as a lot of other smaller items that you might need to store.
If you’re struggling to find the space to put everything, a few big storage boxes are a great solution. They’re cheap to pick up and you can fill them with all of your supplies and store them under the desks when you aren’t using the space for lessons.
You could also look into seating that has storage inside as well. If you get a few stools that open up and have storage inside, you don’t have to take up any extra floor space with boxes, which is ideal if you only have a small room to work with.
Natural Light
Studies show that natural light helps to improve motivation and concentration so it’s vital that you have plenty of light in your homeschool area. If the room is dark and dingy, your children will struggle to work effectively. Your choice of room has a big part to play in this so it’s important that you pick a room that gets a good amount of sunlight all day long. You also need to make sure that you’re using light colors on the walls and placing furniture in such a way that it doesn’t disrupt the flow of light.
Keep these things in mind when you’re designing your homeschooling area if you want to make it the perfect learning environment for your children.
Are there any noise canceling headphones you would recommend?
Hi, Dan. These seem to be good for both kids and adults. The reviews are even better than the Bose brand, and I almost always recommend Bose for everything. Hope that helps!