Learning Spaces at Home: Homeschool & Distance Learning Workspaces
It seems that the start of this school year has required some major adjustments for all of us. For those of us with kids in traditional school, we have had to re-think how we approach learning at home. And whether you have been a homeschooler for years or you have unintentionally become a homeschooler through distance learning, the Covid-19 pandemic has changed how our kids stay active and in touch with nature and our communities. This is one thing we are continuously trying to improve in our family and I’m realizing that it goes hand in hand with home education.
Both our kids are currently in traditional school, which means online distance learning- on a tablet- from 8:00am-3:00pm. Not only are their classes all on a screen, but their independent work is mostly on a screen as well. The need to take breaks, spend time in nature, and be social (in person) is extraordinary, yet it’s often challenging to make happen.
When we homeschooled Karuna (our 12 year old) four years ago, a major part of our approach was to be out in the community, to go on adventures, to visit places like museums and libraries, and to learn from a wide range of people. Even if you don’t have to be online for class all day, these types of community connections are mainly now prohibited.
So what can we do to improve our children’s daily experience during these unprecedented times?
We can start by setting up a productive and comfortable work space for learning at home and then we can do our best to layer in breaks for movement, creativity, time in nature, quality family time, and if possible, time with friends in person.
Setting up a Workspace for Homeschool and Distance Learning
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been collecting tips on setting up a school workspace at home from families in The Art Pantry community. Some of them are adjusting to distance learning, while others have been homeschooling long before Covid. But they have all been intentional in setting up their workspaces to engage their kids academically and creatively.
Here’s what they had to say (along with photos of their spaces):
Anonymous:
“In the beginning of May we moved from an apartment in the middle of the city to a house in the middle of the woods that came with a spare bedroom that thanks to you we converted into an art room/ homeschool room and our lives have changed forever!
The tall storage space is mom’s only, if the girls want something from here they need to ask me first. All the other spaces are theirs to use freely.”
Jenny // Our Bilingual Homeschool
“Before creating a space, purge as much as possible. Anything that you have that is broken, missing pieces or hasn’t been played with for a long while you can either donate, toss or sell.
Use tables and chairs that are appropriate for your child’s height so that they are sitting comfortably as they are working.”
“Depending on your child’s age you will want toys and materials to be accessible to them. Ikea has many affordable options for shelves and bookcases.”
“Store any excess curriculum from previous years or for the future in bins in your garage or closet that you’ve designated for homeschool supplies.
Use magazine holders to organize your curriculum by subjects.
Keep the clutter to a minimum and instead only hang a few things on the wall. Less is more as a child can become easily overwhelmed visually with too many posters and such.”
@_heatherliv
“Homeschooled for 9 wonderful years. We found that the best places for learning were on the couch or at the dining room table.
Sometimes there was learning on the screened-in porch or sometimes there was afternoon downtime in one’s bedroom.
But by and large, homeschooling mostly happened on the couch and at the dining room table.
I found that wooden wine crates worked well to hold binders, textbooks, and other various supplies. One can paint the wine boxes if they are deemed to be too adult (with winery names and labels on the side). Wine crates work well as instant extra book shelves; homeschoolers tend to read a lot.”
@swirlinginthesun
“We’ve just started homeschooling and have a very tiny house! I’ve been able to put two old fashioned desks in my boys’ room (great for storage!) and so the main teaching happens there or at our dining room table with all the other stuff pushed to one end. I use a big whiteboard propped up on a chair and have a beach chair and box with folders, supplies, pencil bag, etc for me and I use a clipboard as a desk. I move the whiteboard, etc out at the end of each day. It’s a bit cumbersome but it works for us. I also have made other quiet spaces that anyone can choose to use- a table in the laundry, in the glasshouse and a picnic table outside. Nothing is pretty but it works well for us- the kids are enjoying learning, we’re able to space out when needed and at the end of the day it’s back to their regular bedroom.”
@kristiannebryant
“We have a small house. One at the kitchen table on a laptop, one in the family room on the desktop, one outside on the table or sometimes the hammock.”
@hollythomashilburn
“We live in 800 sq ft, so not a lot of options for distance. Kids wear headphones and work at opposite ends of the main living space (so, like 20 ft apart). Little sisters desk is right next to Dad, big sister is “on her own” at the other end of the room. They picked out headphones with cat ears…they’re a huge hit!”
Alana // Artful Teaching, Joyful Learning
“Label all your baskets and bins to stay organized. Labels add to a print-rich environment and help your children take responsibility for belongings. Less is more! When it comes to books, toys and materials, offer just a few at a time. Listen closely to what your child is particularly interested in, and display only those. Research shows children play for longer and more engaged periods when there is less to choose from. Open-ended materials are best to nurture your child’s imagination.”
“For toys and books, a rotation system works well. This helps to keep things “fresh” and to not overwhelm your child with an abundance of stuff. Offer books forward facing, on a picture ledge or basket, so that they can see the cover and make independent reading choices.”
“Keep teaching materials organized with a work basket (folders, duotangs, workbooks, journals) labelled with your child’s name. Offer a basket for independent readers (leveled readers that he can read on his own), as well as a basket for read-alouds.”
“Enlist your kids’ help! When it comes to setting ground rules and expectations, involve your children. How do you want your homeschool program to LOOK? SOUND? FEEL? Try this exercise with your children! They will surprise you. Be sure to communicate expectations often, and post schedules and routines to help your child see what’s coming. This helps our children feel safe and secure in their learning day, and ease transitions.”
Markëta // School At Home and Beyond
“At the beginning of our homeschool journey when my son was 2 years old and my daughter was an infant, the first thing I did was to create an accessible, prepared environment. My initial goal was to help them help themselves.”
“The first aim of the prepared environment is… to render the growing child independent of the adult. That is it is a place where he can do things for himself — live his own life — without the immediate help of adults.”
-Maria Montessori
“If you have a young child I recommend setting up your spaces to accommodate their needs so they can do simple things for themselves. When a child has access to their own art materials and can pour themselves a glass of water or make their own snack they feel empowered! This contributes to the child’s development of a strong sense of self and they feel confident to move on to more independent and academic work.”
“If you’re just getting started I highly recommend setting up an art cart. In our home we typically use a simple rolling storage cart which holds my children’s art supplies, activity books, and handwriting materials. The rolling cart is key, especially for small spaces, because it may be rolled into your learning space when in use and stored in a closet or in a different room when not in use.”
“When my son was a preschooler and my daughter was a year old, I felt we needed a dedicated learning space to create a distinction between play time and school time. I noticed my son was very interested in learning, but needed encouragement to step away from his toys. So I created a separate space and dedicated time for learning. To this day my children’s learning space is free from toys and we keep their learning materials separate from their play areas. I don’t think you need an entire classroom in your home! The kitchen table and a shelf for materials works just fine. Having a designated space and time for learning helps young children understand when it’s time for school, and they will learn to respect the space and time as such.”
Kirsten:
“We tweaked our art space just a little bit from back during the art space challenge [Design Camp] in Jan/Feb, but it’s been great! Most of the tweaks were just moving out a few supplies and setting up bins for kids papers and extra school supplies.”
“The other photo is my small workspace that I had to adjust for my daughter—she has the desktop and several shelves, plus the top of a shelf nearby.”
“So far they’ve both been working pretty well, though I may move my younger one to a space where he can move more and use our art space as flex space (or for me!)”
Taking a Break from Curriculum
Now that my kids are immersed in full-day distance learning, I’m finding that we have to be very intentional about taking breaks -from school and from screens. Experienced homeschoolers usually have this part down (or they’re really great about weaving creative, active, and social activities into the curriculum). But for anyone who is feeling the need to expand their child’s screen-free activities, here are a few ideas:
- Set up an Invitation to Create
- Create a cozy reading spot away from the workspace (we recently got a hammock that has become a relaxing outdoor reading spot)
- Play family board games (we have a new favorite board game called Dixit (affiliate link) -it’s hilarious, involves strange and interesting art, and is super fun.
- Have a dance party
- Bake a yummy treat
- Do the Family Canvas Challenge
- Get out in nature (Since Covid we have found new trails near our house that we never knew about!)
- Have a picnic lunch
- Set up a socially distanced, outdoor playdate
- Create a small learning pod so your child has a group of in-person classmates and friends to play with during breaks
Do you have other ways that your kids take breaks from school for creative, active, or social non-screen activities? We are desperately in need of more ideas (especially for middle schoolers) so please share in the comments below!
Below, Abby shares how her kids do schoolwork at the kitchen table and spend their breaks in their art space.
Abby:
“I knew how much we would need art for homeschooling this year and worked all July to transition our small playroom into an art space. I minimized the overwhelm of toys, got trays and material containers from our local thrift store and found a perfect table on Offerup and cut the legs off to make it a kids table. All month my 4 yr old and 6 yr old have been non stop in the room enjoying their art space! It has been an incredible resource now that we have started our homeschool year. I do school with one child at the kitchen table while the other creates in the art space then they swap!”
“I’m still amazed that I can leave my 4 yr old boy unattended with glue, ink pads and paint! He has completely risen to the occasion and learned how to create independently. The loose parts tray is his favorite! I can not imagine homeschooling without this space. Ironically, when the room was dedicated to toys and school it was barely used. Since shifting the focus to art my kids are in there for hours a day doing the very important work of creative play.”
Rolling Cart for Mobility and Small Spaces
Over the years, the rolling cart has been one of my go-to recommended items for storing art supplies (especially when space is limited). Multiple people have recently shared their love for the rolling cart in setting up homeschool spaces as well (as Markëta shared above). Rolling carts are easy to organize and offer swift mobility for a whole stash of supplies. Recently, companies have caught on and are now making organization accessories for their rolling carts (see below).
Kate // The Streamlined Life:
“We homeschool at the table and use a rolling cart to hold most of our books… They make a huge difference in easily accessing supplies.”
Emily // Homeschool Unscripted:
“Rolling cart by the table is a game changer.”
My Favorite Rolling Cart Resources
Most of these options are available in multiple colors:
Additional Resources for Small Spaces
You don’t need a full room or large area to set up an organized and comfortable learning space. In addition to the rolling carts above, there are other great storage solutions for small spaces. Here are some of my past projects for small spaces. Although they were created for art spaces, they could easily be used for homeschool as well.
This post below has a mix of different spaces, including a few small spaces.
How has distance learning or homeschooling been going for you? Please reach out, I’d love to hear from you.
