Easy Ways to Make Your Home a Better Learning Environment for Your Children

You want your child to be able to learn comfortably from home. After all, that’s where they will spend most of their time. It’s where they will hone the skills that they learn in school, and develop habits that could stay with them for the rest of their lives. 

But the struggle to create a productive learning environment is real. Teaching is something that people get degrees in, and work hard at. Can you really learn how to do it on the fly?

Getting a good education is strongly associated with a reduction in risk for juvenile delinquency and other factors that can negatively impact children. In this article, we take a look at ways you can improve your child’s learning by creating a comfortable educational environment at home. 

Most Learning Comes from :living

It’s easy to think of education as a formal thing where you sit down with your child and tell them some stuff they should know. And while that is certainly one form of learning, it’s not the only way to teach your children important concepts. Kids actually learn best through living.

When people can tie knowledge to an experience it helps to root the information firmly in their brain. You can sit a child down and show them a picture of a maple tree. This is what the bark looks like, the leaf pattern, the way the branches grow, and so on. And they may eventually learn how to identify that tree, through memorization. 

However, it will be much easier for them to remember the characteristics of that tree if you point it out to them on a hike. In this case, they aren’t being asked to remember a series of facts, but an experience that they might have found pleasant. 

Think about the things you do every day. You will be surprised by how many learning opportunities there are baked into your typical routine. 

Limit Screen Time

Screen time is consistently shown to be harmful to children and their ability to concentrate. It’s paradoxical as so much of the modern educational curriculum emphasizes screen-based learning. Depending on your child’s age, they probably have a tablet or computer that has been furnished by the school. 

The pros and cons of that system are their own article. However, it is unambiguously true that you should limit your child’s screen time during leisure activities. There are two big reasons why:

• Screen time is empty calories: That’s right. Your kid’s tablet is basically the relaxation equivalent of French fries. Even if they use it for educational games, the information that they obtain from the experience won’t be absorbed to the same extent that it would be from a book. Study after study shows that the human mind places a low priority on information that it obtains from a screen (this article notwithstanding, we are sure). And, of course, most kids aren’t electing to play math games on their tablets when they get home from school. 
• It actively hurts their attention span: Studies also show that screen time diminishes people’s ability to concentrate for long periods of time. While the exact reason behind this is yet to be determined there are theories that it relates to the way screen-based experiences are formulated. Social media is designed to provide bite-sized information. Video games/television are designed to provide constant stimulation. Even this article is designed to be skimmable. 

Most experts recommend a maximum of two hours of screen time for children. However, you should keep in mind that many kids may already hit that limit during school hours through various digital learning tools. Their device should provide you with ways to monitor and limit their access to screen time. It won’t be a popular decree, but it will help their intellectual development. 

Instead, look for activities that can improve learning. Reading, board games, and even family outdoor activities have all been positively linked with mental development in children. 

Create a Comfortable Space for Learning

Of course, there are a million different ways to do this. If you have a designated room for study time, that’s great, but it’s also not an accessible solution for everyone. Even if you do have limited space, there are great ways to foster your child’s productivity. 

• Declutter: If the study space has to be your dining room table, there is nothing wrong with that. However, if half of that table is stacked up with mail, coats, and library books that need to be returned, it could prove a distracting environment for the child. Try to declutter as much as possible. 
• Eliminate other distractions: The study area should be a distraction-free zone. That means limiting access to cell phones, and other items that may steal your child’s attention away. 
• Avoid noise pollution: This is another factor that can be difficult to control. A big family in a confined space is always going to produce some noise, but you can at least control for optional noise pollution factors. No TV or music blaring (unless that is part of your child’s study process) during working hours. 

You should also think about talking to your child about what factors they find most meaningful in a study area. Everyone learns a little bit differently. If you can select conditions that are optimized to their preferences, it will improve their learning experiences considerably. 

Encourage Play

As Mr. Rogers once said, “Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play IS serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.”When kids play, they aren’t just blowing off steam. They are using their imaginations and developing important social skills that they will carry with them into adulthood. 

It’s a vital component of education that should not be overlooked. By using creative play as a substitution for less productive forms of recreation (TV, screens, video games, etc.) you not only help with your child’s mental development, but you also help to reduce their screen dependency in a meaningful way that may stay with them for their entire lives.