Creating a Positive Home Learning Environment

Whether your child studies at home every night or spends most evenings in the library, it's important to provide a workspace of their own where they can go to study, or just work on something more personal. With a familiar and reliable place your young learner will have the environment they need to excel in school.

Check Your Inventory!

Set aside a place for your child that he can call his own. That way they won't have to clear away everything they used when they get to the end of a study session. While kitchen and dining room tables are great for larger projects, they aren't so well suited for regular study, since books, pens and scissors get in the way of the day to day uses of those areas. Set up a place where your child can settle in and leave papers and pens at hand without having to pack up each night.

A good, sturdy desk, a comfortable chair and a clear, bright lamp are essential. Your child should be able to sit for reasonable blocks of time without becoming fatigued or bleary-eyed. Shelves and drawers are important for organization and it helps if all the surfaces are easy to clean.

Location, Location, Location

Location is important. Setting up a space in a common area of your home can be a good idea for some children. It can be lonely and difficult to concentrate with the sounds of family life going on in the distance. Some children need to feel like part of the family and work better closer to other people. This also allows you easier access to you child so you can monitor their progress if you need to. For a child that thrives in privacy, set aside a corner of their bedroom, but keep it well separate from distractions like games, music and other hobbies not related to studying. By keeping the spaces separate in the bedroom, you will ensure that your child still has a haven they can retreat to when it's time to forget about school and just be a kid.

Maintain Order

You should encourage your child to spread out as much as is needed during work time, but to keep some semblance of order and neatness when their area isn't being used for study. A child who learns to organize their space will carry organization into every corner of their life

Ground rules about food and drink, games and telephone use and the kinds of things used to decorate their space with are also a good idea. The workspace should be personal, but not an extension of the playroom.

Pay attention to the space around the workspace. You can't expect your child to keep their area neat when the rest of your house isn't. Set the example by organizing your home in a comfortable, useful way.

A supportive home environment will help enable your child to excel by making study and productivity part of daily life. Organizing and running your home with your child's developing life skills in mind will provide the supportive structure and atmosphere needed for success in the classroom.