During this coronavirus pandemic schools are forced to shut down almost for this year, many families are finding it difficult to set up online learning space at home. My 9-year-old daughter would work on my laptop on the dining table, bedroom, or where ever possible as my 3 yr old would trouble her during her online lectures.
This year all schools under the directive of government are encouraging online learning at home to continue as an alternative to going back to school in person. For kids who are going to do online schooling, the most effective and the best way we can support them is by providing them with a dedicated space to focus on their studies despite all the distractions at home.
Here you will find the best tools and tips for setting up a dedicated online learning space at home for your kids, now that their classroom maybe your living room, kitchen, or a home office you have to share.
Learning space at home for online schooling based on your child’s age and preference.
There is no need to have a personalized desk of one’s own for educational success—after all, most of us grew up doing our school homework on the dining table or outside in the gallery on floor matt. The most important thing is to have one dedicated learning space at home where kids can follow a learn-at-school-like routine.
The study space location will depend on the age of your child. The younger your kid is, the learning space at home should be located at a place where you will get to keep a watch on. Sometimes older kids do their best when they are in groups (i.e. group studies) or the place where there are a lot of books around (i.e libraries). In that case, you can consider sharing your space where you work from home. A separate small desk or a folding table and chair for your child would do wonders.
Some children especially older kids will like to have more privacy to avoid distractions due to the younger siblings around. You can create a dedicated learning space at home or a private study room by separating your existing room with partitioning the part of your room with a privacy screen or curtains or a bookshelf. This will create a sense of personal area of jurisdiction.
If you have decided to set up an online learning space at home for your child in their bedroom, make sure  you’re aware of the potential consequences :
- There can be a lot of distractions when toys, books, and beds are clubbed together. Unless your child has a lot of self-discipline, everything in their bedroom can be a distraction when they’re not motivated to do their schoolwork. My 8 years old daughter did her daily google classes on her own in her bedroom. But she was supervised during her online assignment time, or it would have been a playtime for her.
- Having gadgets like computer, tablet, or mobile in the bedroom can attract your child to stay awake till late at night when it’s there bedtime, It doesn’t matter whether they’re playing games or socializing on their gadgets or doing schoolwork, it’s better to keep the office work away to set a good example to your younger ones.
With proper monitoring and setting some rules for screen times, personal learning space at the home desk in the bedroom could be a good option for focused schoolwork, and plz make sure to check in if your child is doing schoolwork at their desk.
Essentials for Sharing office space :
The sharing of workspace with younger ones can be a tough task. So we need to be double sure that there are alternate arrangements for moving to another area for both to work in isolated conditions whenever required.
- A rolling storage utility cart such as the Jumix 3 Tier Metal Rolling Cart Organizer with Wheels Rolling Cart Storage Shelves with Cover Board & Casters for Office Home Bedroom or INDIAN DECOR. 459090 Space
- Saving Utility Serving Trolley or large cardboard box can be used to move the school stuff whenever required.
- Getting a backpack to put your kids in the mindset of going to school can be a good idea even if they are carrying their books and school stuff from the living room to the bedroom of office space in your home.
- By blocking outside noise, a pair of kids headphones like Lightweight Bluetooth Headphones for Kids w/Apple MFI Certified can help your kids concentrate on the schools and college lectures peacefully.
Lightweight Bluetooth Headphones For KidsÂ
- Select your desk utility gear based on the usage of your kids.
- Kid’s online school accessories or equipment requirements will grow as they start getting used to it.
The first essential requirement for a child in an online learning space at home will be to have a flat surface to write on.
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- Children in the age group of 4 to 5 will need space for art and motor learning tools.
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- Children in the age group 6 onwards till 12 need more books, worksheets, and other school content to deal with. We recommend getting a desk that’s at least 30 inches wide that can accommodate laptops and some space for writing and noting down important pointers taught in online schooling.
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- Junior and high school kids aged group 13 to 18 years perform the majority of their schools work on a desk. So it’s likely that they will be using more equipment, such as Study Table, Laptop, Computer Table Desk, so look for desk features that match their requirements, such as a BLUEWUD Amalet Engineered Wood Study Table with drawer and bookshelves.
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The second essential requirement for online learning space at home will be sufficient storage:
If the desk doesn’t have enough storage space then things can be messy and it will be difficult to organize the school’s stuff for easy retrieval.
- Â Â Storage units like DeckUp Muvo Book Shelf unit can be useful for organizing books. Or else you customize your bookshelves by using your own creativity.
The third Essential requirement for online learning space at home will be a desk chair to support sitting for long periods.
Many desks chairs are designed to suit as per the age of the kids.
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- KIDOMATE Height Adjustable Study Chair with features such as Ergonomic design for better posturing, Easy height-adjustable backrest and seat rest, Castor wheels for floor movement, Handle for convenient usage, Child-friendly materials with anti-pinch safety features.
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The fourth Essential requirement for online learning space at home will be to help the kids organize their desk and classwork.
Due to this pandemic, all schools are forced to adapt to using tools such as virtual calendars, Schedules, and online assignments through Google classroom. A physical reminder of the child’s daily online schooling schedule will be helpful. You can put up a corkboard, whiteboard or chalkboard by the desk and put your child’s class timetable on it, as well as your office schedule. To make it interesting you can encourage your child to personalize their learning space at home as per their needs.
- Educate your child about the importance of keeping school books and other stuff at a designated space every time after use and let them know that they are responsible for these.
- Replenish the frequently used daily supplies like a pencil, sharpener, etc within easy reach.
- Colourful label makers can transform any workplace into a neat and organized workspace.
The fifth Essential requirement for online learning space at home will be to safeguard the computer:
A computer or Laptop is the last essential to be considered in their online learning space at home. Teaching your kids to be secured and safe online is a long task. A few basic guidelines or rules will help get things going.
- Create a child account on your laptop or computer.
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- Â When a child logs into their user account, they will only be able to access applications and programs approved by parents.
- Child accounts do not permit kids to change any laptop settings.
2. Teach your kids healthy use of Computers or Laptops
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- To prevent extended use of laptops or computer parents should establish ground rules.
- Teach good posture by telling your kids to sit upright with their feet on the ground.
- Encourage your children to get up and move around at least once every hour when they are using a computer or laptop.
If you want to manage online schooling during Pandemic in a perfectly organized way then we need to engage our kids in the process and give them a dedicated online learning space at home to learn. And rest assured that you will be placed comfortably in this continually changing and challenging environment.
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Helpful and informative article. Loved it
Thanks.
Thanks Vidhya
Informative post, particularly in this time of pandemic
Thanks Puspanjalee
Good tips. We need to adapt to this new world!
Great ideas… Trying to implement them for my 9 year old son…
yes. Right
Nice tips for today’s pandemic situation..
thanks Jyanthi
These are all good tips. We find that changing up the location where my son takes his classes, but keeping the location fixed per class, makes online schooling less boring and also keeps him more focussed on his tasks. So he begins on his table for the lesson, moves to the dining table for the second and so on.
Thanks Noor Anand
These are certainly really great tips & stuff that could really spruce up a study corner for online classes. Making it a productive exercise. Very useful & informative
Thanks Vashi
Nice writeup!! These are some great points one should keep in mind for online classes.
Thanks for all the information. I think personalising the study space works wonders.
Just what I was looking for! This is a well-written and useful article. Thank you for this! 🙂
Kids take a lot of time to settle in the online classes and accept that this is the new normal. Luckily, we had a table in the room already as I used to write and now it is the new homeschool for them.
With both of us working and son having online classes it becomes a bit of challenge and with a table and comfortable chair that I could buy we are able to manage through the situation.. very valid points… Thanks for sharing