Set up a Dedicated Work Space or Classroom

If your home is large enough, and I know that’s not true for every home, set this place aside only for school. Create a spot that can be JUST the classroom. It’s often said right now that we aren’t working from home; we are living at work. And as school begins, we are also living at school. Being able to leave school supplies out and books in their spot if possible makes school feel more real, and it also makes it easier to function.

With multiple children, I think this is even more important. Older children can help younger children at times, and being together — even with earphones on — makes school a little more enjoyable. Obviously, this also means respectful rules are important. Everyone needs to be able to function independently. But even teens benefit from a structured, collaborative environment.

Our answer: convert the Art Room into our Classroom. Our Art Room is what most people would use as the breakfast room or eat-in kitchen. With a dining room just steps away, we dedicated this space to creativity from the day we moved in. We furnished the Art Room simply: a table and chairs along with two vintage dressers purchased from the Facebook Marketplace. The dressers hold art supplies and all manner of materials for making and creating. I have more about organizing a home art studio as well as ideas for establishing creative spaces in your home in other posts. Click the links.

We have made some changes to the Art Room to make it more conducive to school work including implementing all of the tips I recommend here. It is central in our open floor plan home, so my husband and I can share supervision and tech support responsibilities as needed. And we have all of the necessities for school now at hand in one place.

Location! Location! Location!

Where should your kids work? NOT in their bedrooms if you can help it. Even with teens, a closed bedroom door makes supervising your kids harder. And experts advise people not to work in their bedrooms — the same applies to children. Bedrooms should be places of rest, relaxation, and play. Keep school separate.

Every home is different, but here are a few suggested locations:

• Guest bedroom: you won’t be having guests for the near future, so why not convert your unused room into a classroom (unless, of course, it is already the office space for you or your partner)

• Dining room or eat-in kitchen: do you have more than one eating space in your home? Convert the least-used space into your classroom.

• Playroom or basement: if you have a playroom, convert a corner or more into the classroom.

• A bedroom: perhaps during this time, your children can share a room (they may love it). Convert one of their rooms into a dedicated classroom.

• The garage: if you live in a temperate climate, this could also be a good solution! Move the cars to the driveway and set up in the garage. On nice days, you can even leave the doors open all day!

• A shed: could you covert an old garden shed or playhouse into a classroom space?

• A patio or porch: if you live in a temperate part of the world, perhaps a patio or porch would make a good school space. Learning outside has so many benefits for kids of all ages.

• The Backyard: create an outdoor classroom if your weather allows. This doesn’t work in Minnesota all year, but here in Colorado — and in many parts of the country, this might be a great solution!

• A closet: there are so many great examples of closets-turned-offices which might be a fabulous work space for a child or teen (or yourself). Think about a hall closet or other space that might be a good conversion.

• The awkward space: is there a strange cupboard under your stairs? Or an odd entryway? What about that weird back hallway no one really uses? Consider every square foot of your home as potential. You might be surprised!

Think about the spaces you use everyday — and then identify the unused or underused places in your home.

Table or Desk & Comfortable Chairs

Whether your school will be online for hours at a time or your child will be checking in a few times per day, they will need a comfortable place to sit and to work. Make sure the table is at an appropriate height. Again, it doesn’t have to be fancy. We have used countertops to make desks and tables with hairpin legs which can be ordered in almost any height. You can make a table from an old door, and the Facebook Marketplace is full of tables and desks — sometimes even for free — which would make good work surfaces. If the table legs are too tall, cut them down to the right height. Searching for “school table” or “adjustable table” may produce results from schools, churches, or childcare facilities getting rid of normally-expensive equipment, too. Adjustable-height tables are great for classrooms!

In our Art Room the table is an IKEA table top cut to length and assembled with legs from DIYHairpinLegs.com. We added some old IKEA legs to the off-cut to create a shelf for the back end of the table which makes for more storage.

In my Workroom, the desk is made from several IKEA countertops mounted to the wall and again supported by legs from DIYHairpinLegs. There’s a full tutorial for the desk here.

The chairs in the Art Room are vintage classroom chairs from the 1950s that I bought years ago. They are fabulous! In my Workroom I have Herman Miller Aeron Chairs which I bought used and LOVE!

Whatever you do, be sure the space is comfortable for adults, too. The reality is your kids may need you there for more than just a brief question at times. It may not be your primary work space, but make a place where you can be comfortable, too. Have chairs that are appropriately-sized for your kids as well as for you. Make sure there is an empty spot at the table in case you need to answer emails while they work.

With multiple children, you may need chairs at varying heights. Bambino likes to put an inflatable balance disc on his chair to make the height better for his body — and it makes the chair more comfortable. Yoga balls can make great chairs for children — especially kids who need more movement in their day. They make it easier to focus for some kids; just make sure they are at the appropriate height for good posture. I like the yoga balls with stands — they are a little less precarious.

Buy the School Supplies

It may be tempting not to buy school supplies if your child will be at home from the start of the school year. But I encourage you to buy them anyway. Your child needs the right tools to be able to do their work at home, and school supplies are a big part of that. Working from home is disruptive, but having the right supplies around helps to normalize the distance learning experience. If your school did not send home a list of necessary supplies, here are some suggestions:

• Pencils

• Pens: for middle and high school students; erasable pens are helpful

• Markers

• Crayons

• White printer paper

• Colored paper/construction paper

• Ruled paper: wide rule for elementary school and college rule for middle and high school

• Graph paper

• Glue sticks

• White school glue

• Scissors

• a binder

• dividers

• a three-hole punch

For a complete list of school supplies by ages and grades, check out:

Storage Ideas for School Supplies

I am big on bins and jars for keeping supplies handy, personally. Most of our pens and pencils and markers are kept in glass pickle jars or jelly jars — things that might otherwise be recycled. But it keeps everything tidy and organized — and right at hand. And it isn’t expensive, either. Look at your recycling for jars, tin cans, and cardboard boxes. You can certainly dress them up with stickers, wrapping paper, or original artwork. The storage doesn’t need to be fancy to be helpful!

If you have room, designate a dresser or a cupboard for school supplies and materials. Creating a space for items to be organized will bring order to your classroom and will help kids know how to keep it tidy — reducing stress for everyone involved. The Facebook Marketplace is a fabulous place to find cast-off furniture which can become good storage for your schoolroom. It doesn’t have to be fancy — just functional!

a White Board or An Easel

We have had our easel for years. It was someone else’s castoff by the side of the road one day when we lived in San Francisco. I cleaned it up, bought some markers and chalk, and it has been the centerpiece of our art room ever since.

In a schoolroom, a white board is really important, too. You can use them for any number of things — teaching concepts, kids can work on them which can then be photographed and shared with teachers. You can keep the daily schedule or track assignments on a white board if it is big enough. And while a child is participating in class, it might be easier for the child to do some work on a white board where the teacher can see more easily. Again, the Facebook Marketplace is a great place to find old whiteboards. You can also buy whiteboard paint if you have smooth walls — or even paint an old door or a piece of plywood for a cheap option.

Lamps and Good Lighting

Every work space needs good lighting. If the area you have designated as a classroom doesn’t have good lighting, add some task lamps so your child isn’t straining to work. The space should be flooded with light — not just from above which can create harsh shadows on work areas. Task lamps make writing and reading easier. If you have multiple people working at a table, think like an old school library — give each work space task lighting to make work easier.

Our Art Room has lovely natural light from a glass door as well as skylights. However, when winter comes, I will probably need to add some task lighting and perhaps upgrade our overhead fixture. Good lighting is layered — natural, overhead, task, and accent lighting. We haven’t addressed lighting in this room yet, but I suspect that will be on the agenda soon!

Power strips

There’s nothing more frustrating than juggling outlets and multiple devices. Use a powerstrip so everyone has a place to plug in as needed, and manage your cords if there are lots of devices for multiple users.

A Printer

Most children don’t learn to type efficiently until middle school or later. If your child doesn’t type well, print off assignments, so they can be completed by hand. Then scan them and turn them in. This can save a LOT of frustration both for parents and for students. Technology can be a difficult barrier for many students who are accustomed to handwriting their work each day. Additionally, learning is actually deeper and longer-lasting when assignments are hand-written, so it is better for your child to complete their assignments by hand. Start each day or each week by printing everything out so it is accessible and easy to complete.

I ended up buying a new printer about a month into remote learning because my old printer broke — it was the best money I’ve spent in a long time, too. Newer printers can even be used with smart phones, so if you don’t have a computer in your home, a printer is still a good investment and can make turning in work easier and less frustrating. Our printer is in my office, because my child isn’t knowledgable enough to do his own printing, yet. But if your kids are older, make a space for the printer and some printer paper in your classroom. And invest in black ink!

Headphones with a Mic

With multiple people in the house trying to work at the same time, headphones are a necessity. There are times when all three of us are on zoom calls simultaneously, and that’s when we pull out the headphones.

I am cautious about using headphones. When Bambino is wearing them, I’m not able to supervise him as closely, and headphones can damage a child’s hearing. However, they are a tool to be deployed when necessary, and with multiple children they become even more important. Make sure the headphones are appropriately-sized for children and have a mic so your student can participate fully in class activities.

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