Home Learning

Last spring was definitely trial and error for our family with home learning!  Like everyone else, we were thrown in unprepared but did our best to get through each day.  Trying to support both boys with their schoolwork while working full time was definitely a challenge!  This summer we’ve spent some time thinking about how we can set ourselves up for a smoother school year with remote learning.  Our school is starting out with a hybrid option so the boys will be in school two days a week and home three days a week.  To support their at-home days and for future years when they start getting more actual homework, I decided to create a dedicated home learning area in our house.  We chose our attic for two simple reasons.  First, we live in a relatively smaller house with limited space and this was the only room with space available.  And second, the boys were very excited about having their own space in the walk-up attic which is accessed through their bedroom.  

Most people won’t have an entire room to dedicate to home learning and that’s totally fine.  Working with or without space limitations, my number one suggestion to help make home learning a success is to have some type of dedicated space.  This could be your kitchen table, counter/bar/island, a desk in a hallway, or wherever you can find a space for your child to call their learning area.  If you have teenagers, I’d suggest having this space anywhere EXCEPT their bedroom.  I think it’s too tempting for them to sleep during the school day if their bed is that close to their learning area.  Also I’ve read that habits are easier to form when you have spaces dedicated to different purposes.  

Ok, so we picked our attic as our dedicated learning space.  It’s not the prettiest room as you can see in some of the photos there are paint stains on the hardwood floor.  But the boys are excited about the space and I’m hopeful that will make a difference with ensuring they actually use this space for home learning.  My goal for this project was simply to create a space that would make the kids excited about learning and lead to fewer arguments and meltdowns.

Here are the items we included in our home learning space:

School supplies – We keep ours in the cart you see below that can easily move around when needed.  It’s stocked with pencils, crayons, markers, colored pencils, highlighters, dry erase markers, scissors, post-it notes, glue sticks, erasers, paper, ruler, pencil sharpener, clip boards, and some craft items like pom-poms, popsicle sticks, and buttons.  We used mason jars and containers to store all the items so the boys can easily clean up at the end of each school day. 

Basic Desk Set-up – Each boy has their own chair, desk, lamp and noise cancelling head phones as you can see below. I just ordered some noise cancelling headphones that are arriving in a few days. I chose wired ones so I don’t have to deal with keeping them charged and so the boys need to stay in their seat while on their zoom meetings since they have been known to walk away from the screen and go get a snack! Each desk also has a small dry erase board to use while working on school work.

Storing Art & School Work – We keep their “keepsake” boxes out for them to store any art or school work that made them feel proud. We use a simple acrylic file holder with rainbow file folders. In addition to art and school work we store their school class photos, report cards, and any sports team photos. The boys love having easy access to flip through and see their work from earlier years!

Displaying Art & School Work – We added an IKEA Skadis bulletin board so they can hang up any recent work or reminders about upcoming projects. This system is super cool since you can also add cups, hooks, clips and other accessories to the board.

Finally, we included two IKEA POÄNG chairs to give them some space to take a break and relax between classes or activities or if they just need a new setting away from their desk.

So there it is… It’s not the most glamorous home learning set-up, but it’s definitely functional and the kids are excited for home learning which is a nice change from last spring!

*Note that retailer links are affiliate links and I earn a small percentage of commission if you buy through my links. Buying through my links does not impact the price you pay.

Share:

More Posts

join our email list

hi, i'm lauren!

I help successful, high-achieving women like you implement efficient, proven and sustainable ways to prioritize your health and find your confidence again.

Hi, I'm Lauren!

I help successful, high-achieving women like you implement efficient, proven and sustainable ways to prioritize your health and find your confidence again.