Whether your new to the idea of schooling kids at home or not, more and more parents are making the decision to homeschool their children. Studies have shown that children thrive more when they are spending more time with family – reading together, studying, eating meals, or just playing outside.
For full time homeschoolers States have made it easy to comply and curriculums abound. It’s now estimated that approximately 1.6 billion children are being homeschooled.
If you’re thinking about homeschooling your children, there’s a lot to consider, including how to set up a homeschool classroom in your already full home! Here are 6 tips to help get you started.
Claim your homeschool space
Step 1 is to claim (or reclaim!) your space. To make it functional, think in terms of an actual classroom. Your homeschool room will not only just be for teaching your children individually, but it’ll be a place where they can read and complete their assignments in peace and quiet. You will also need to consider storage for the schoolbooks, and any other materials and supplies. Here are 5 tips to help get you started.
Design your homeschool floor plan
Set up space for your children to work. You can use one large desk, individual desks, or even a countertop to create a longer table where multiple children could sit. If you’re planning on homeschooling more than one child, we suggest adding assigned seats for each child. That way they have their own personal workspace.
Teaching aids
A large dry-erase board or chalkboard will aid you in teaching your lessons. You’ll also want a stocked bookshelf for reading (and encouraging a love for books). Many parent teachers use videos to enhance their lessons or to help explain a topic, so have a laptop handy as well. Several options exist for storing school supplies such as scissors, pencils, crayons, notebooks, paper, and so on. You can use plastic storage containers, storage bins, baskets, small crates, and so on. Place them on an upright bookshelf or several shorter bookshelves side by side for a clean appearance.
Family reading area
Often times, you will read aloud to your children, especially at the elementary school level. Have a “reading corner” where your children sit on the floor or on bean bags and you read aloud to them from a chair. This corner of the room should be close to your bookshelf and you can design the walls in that area with literary material.
Use your walls
Don’t let any space go to waste in your homeschool room. Use your walls to teach, add color, and have fun. From multiplication to a diagram of the human body to an extensive timeline, you can surround your child with valuable information.
If you’re up for it, you can block off a certain area on the wall and use chalkboard paint. This would be a great asset to have in your homeschool room. There are educational posters for every topic. If you use poster putty, you won’t damage your walls and you can switch posters around based on what you are studying at the time. In addition, a laminated U.S. or world map is an essential component of your homeschool setup.
Adapt to changing needs
As your children get older, they will have changing needs. You’ll probably want to change the reading corner to a study corner. Your students will likely need a private desk with access to a computer. Be prepared to update your homeschool setup as necessary. As students get older, they will begin to show an interest in nontraditional or vocational subjects. Try to adapt the learning environment to encourage those interests.
Homeschooling your children can be very rewarding. Design a homeschool room that is both functional and creative, and watch your children blossom!
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