20 Tips for Creating a Learning-Rich Environment at Home

Parents and caregivers are children’s first teachers and, according to recent research, shape learning even before a child is born. A parent’s role in their child’s learning continues through schooling years, whether that be through homeschooling or enriching learning at home after school hours. Creating a learning-rich environment at home can help. Read on for helpful tips and resources for parents of K-12 students, whether you homeschool or simply want to build an enriching after-school learning environment.

Design a Dedicated Learning Space

Children benefit from a space that is quiet, free from distractions, and conductive of focus. It does not have to be a very large space, but it should be inviting and well-organized. For younger age groups, a small desk with supplies in the family room will be enough, while older students might require a quieter area with less traffic. To build the best dedicated home learning space, make sure it has:

Good lighting: natural light is best, but if that is not an option, a good desk lamp (affiliate link) will do.
Comfortable seating: good posture is important, so an ergonomic chair or cushion will be essential during prolonged study sessions.
Essential supplies: ensure there are pencils, paper, folders, glue, scotch tape, rulers and any other items that are relevant to the age group.
Children’s input: Get the child actively involved in designing the space by choosing the furniture, decorating the walls with favorite posters or drawings, or helping to choose the location. Children are more likely to enjoy and want to spend time in a space that they feel ownership over.

Children’s input: Get the child actively involved in designing the space by choosing the furniture, decorating the walls with favorite posters or drawings, or helping to choose the location. Children are more likely to enjoy and want to spend time in a space that they feel ownership over.
Use visuals: These visuals can range from homemade posters that reinforce key skills, post-its with motivational words, labels on household items in other languages, or high-quality work. By incorporating visuals, you further establish this space as one dedicated to learning that reflects your child’s work and effort.

Follow a Routine

Children thrive with predictable, developmentally appropriate structure. Establishing regular study times, whether it’s for reading, homework, or homeschool activities, helps children develop healthy work habits. Regardless of how long the home study time is, be mindful of the followings:

Involve the child in planning activities: This fosters responsibility and accountability, reduces stress, and enhances focus. When kids have a say in the plans and routines, they are more likely to take ownership of their study time. If you have high schoolers, give them even more freedom in choosing the timing, the structure and the areas of content they want to focus on. Coding<4>Youth is a great resource for kids interested in computer programming, Khan Academy offers practice with math skills at each child’s pace, and Storybird inspires creativity through writing and illustration.
Balance remediation with preferred activities: Yes, provide intervention in areas that require it, but also include time for preferred subjects and activities. One app that alternates between curriculum-driven activities and games is ABC Mouse. For older learners, Adventure Academy offers a fully immersive virtual universe.
Incorporate breaks and physical activities: These are essential in keeping the children’s minds and bodies active. For younger children this may look like short physical play sessions between learning tasks, while older students might benefit from walks, stretching or even brief mindfulness exercises. Two great resources for this are the Cosmic Kids and GoNoodle apps.

Foster a Love of Reading

A truly learning-rich environment is one where reading resources are readily available to fuel curiosity. One of the greatest educational gifts you can give your child is instilling a love of reading (check out more tips about this topic in this post). Literacy begins in the early stages of child development and is a skill that requires time, repetition, a growth mindset that helps kids practice and grow resilience. However, reading is about a lot more than literacy skills – it broadens the imagination, opens up perspectives, and plays a big role in social-emotional learning. When planning and building literacy resources, keep the following in mind:

Leverage community resources: Local libraries have mindfully built programs for various age groups, are good places to experiment with a range of genres, and often host community events. Check if they offer any free online learning tools and virtual tutoring that you can access at home. All over the world, local libraries offer millions of ebooks and audiobooks. You can borrow them — for free, instantly — with a library card and Libby. Check out garage sales and secondhand stores for a cost-effective way to build an at-home library.
Curate a diverse collection of books: Include different genres, including fantasy, graphic novels, classics, mystery, adventure, non-fiction, poetry, and picture books. The latter are not only valuable for early readers but make great reads and conversation starters for middle schoolers and beyond.
Try read-alouds: Read-alouds are valuable for kids of all ages. They support fluency, expression, and comprehension and engage children in reading while strengthening your connection with your child.
Provide culturally diverse readings and resources: Children learn about the world, themselves, and others through reading. In today’s global world, it’s essential that children are aware of different cultures and develop the ability to understand and build relationships with others. Check out ABSeeMe, a library of books specialized to represent diverse races and cultures.

Foster a Positive Attitude About Learning

When a family or community celebrates learning and exploration, children perceive education as a positive, fulfilling experience rather than a chore. As a parent, your attitude toward learning has a great impact on how your child will relate to it.

Here’s how to ensure a positive, joyful attitude toward learning:

Celebrate both effort and achievements: Whether it’s a good grade in school, learning a new skill, completing a thematic unit, or working through a challenge, recognize the child’s effort to reinforce the idea that learning, while hard, is very valuable and rewarding.
Be mindful of the way you talk about school and learning: Avoid phrases like “Math is always so hard” or “I never liked doing experiments in Science.” Acknowledge when something is difficult, but emphasize the value of seeing it through.

Incorporate play and creativity in the daily routine: Learning does not always have to be serious and young children are not the only ones who learn well through play. Integrate games, hands-on experiences and creative activities that make learning engaging and fun. Minecraft Education is designed to engage kids and spark their imagination.
Engage the whole family: Learning is most effective when it is a shared experience. By including the whole family, you build a supportive home community that values learning. Whether you set up a family reading time, do collaborative projects around the house, or even just crafts that include problem-solving, you will make learning collective, tangible, and relevant.

Curating Your At-Home Learning Space

Creating a learning-rich environment does not mean breaking the budget or completely rearranging your living space. Simply focus on creating an atmosphere of curiosity, creativity, and a love of learning. With the above tips and our growing resource library, you are well on your way to creating an ideal space for your child and family to learn and create. For more tips to help you support your child’s education, make sure to subscribe to the Ed2Grow newsletter.

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