Homeschoolers do their school at home, right? Of course, but where? If you’ve been homeschooling for any length of time, you’ve probably figured out that you need some dedicated space for homeschooling. That doesn’t always mean that you have a separate room, but you probably have a system of where your kids do their work, and that’s the focus for our thoughts today. Is your homeschooling space working for you?
There are a couple of things that homeschoolers need to have at all times and so the “stuff” of homeschooling needs a space. Those things may vary from family to family, but generally they will include paper supplies, pens, pencils, calculators, computers or textbooks, reference books and copies of portfolios or student work. The obvious and best solution is to have bookshelves or cabinets dedicated to these things. However, you need to consider the “clutter” factor. These types of resources can take up a lot of room, and when a space is cluttered, it feels less productive. This can impact your student’s work and attention to it, too. Be sure to organize these tools in sealed cabinets or sliding case bookshelves if possible. Or, keep the bookshelves and cabinets in another room from where your child does their schoolwork. Consider the “ambient view” that your child has every day so that their attitudes are focused on productivity.
Another factor of your homeschooling space is desks or tables to work at versus beds and couches. Most homeschool kids will want to do school on their bed at one time or another, or on a couch, and while this can be done, it’s not optimal for their attention span. Any work area that is typically devoted to something else leads your “brain” into that expectation. For instance, if your homeschool child wants to work on their bed, then one of two things will probably happen. Either your child will fall asleep working because the bed is for sleeping, or your child will have trouble sleeping because they use their beds primarily for working. Having a desk or dedicated hard surface is much better for your child’s productivity, but note one thing. If your homeschool child works at the kitchen table, as many do, try to arrange the seating such that they work at a different spot than they eat. Subtle changes in where they eyes go when roaming or the lighting on one side of the table versus another can make an impact in creating a different mental feel to the kitchen table when it’s school time as opposed to eating time.
These are just a couple of things to think about regarding your homeschool space. The goal is simple – give your children productive, clear areas to work in which they can make the best use of their mental attention to learn, study, and grow in wisdom. You’ve given much thought to the curricula you use, so taking one more step to enhance your space shouldn’t be a problem. Why spend money and time choosing curricula that works if you throw roadblocks in front of your child’s abilities. Give them space that works with them instead!
