If you plan on homeschooling this year like many parents worried about COVID-19, you may be looking for ideas and suggestions to make your efforts more successful and productive. If you’re going to follow a curriculum, or facilitate Trussville Alabama’s public school online learning program, there are preparations you can make to help you and your students get started right. Some items that will be important are things like supplies and storage, environment, and the right attitude for learning.
Supplies And Storage
Depending on the grade the children are in, the supply list can be extensive. You will not need to worry about buying tissue or other things that you already have in your home, but a pencil sharpener may be a well-used item. Younger children will need crayons, construction paper, finger-paint (maybe), and other arts and crafts supplies. Older students may use highlighters, colored pencils or markers, poster-board, and many other things. Once you have your supplies, you will need to figure out a way to store them neatly and make them available for use.
Small covered containers on a shelf with labels on them will work fine, or you may want to get more creative. Canisters, shoe-boxes, magazine holders, a cloth hanging shoe organizer, or even the organizer that hangs on the back of the bathroom door with pockets holding things like shampoo and shaving supplies could work. The right supplies will make your days go better, and the right organization will help keep things moving positively throughout the day.
Environment
A fun environment is especially important for younger children, and making one is not difficult. The main area of concern will be the walls. They cannot be bare! An environment that encourages productivity, innovation, creativity, and focus is helpful. Even adults need a good environment in which to work. It has to be neat, organized, and well lit. The decoration is important. You might need the alphabet displayed, or for older students things like a periodic table of elements. There are lots of animal themed wall graphics that would make a fun addition to a 1st grade student’s room available just about anywhere that sells wall art online.
The wall graphics are great because they can be taken down and stored for later use. Take some time to find ways to make their learning space special. Vendors like Label Lama can provide wall graphics and custom vinyl wall art for whatever your needs are. Their products come to you without ever having to leave your home in this time of social distancing. Take a look at Label Lama here. They’re a great resource for creative parents looking to decorate a room.
The Teacher Influences The Learning Environment
When your family sees you working hard to prepare for their schoolroom and taking the time for things to be helpful for them, they are going to realize how seriously you are accepting this challenge. They will appreciate your work no matter what their age and they will recognize that you have committed to their learning. There will be a positive effect on the child psychologically to see you putting so much effort into their education. Your attitude will encourage their participation and efforts. If they had the impression that it was unimportant to you, they would adopt the same view. The teacher sets up the work environment attitude and maintains it.
You do not have to be a crafty wizard to make their learning space special. Making an area in your home, set aside just for their schooling, will create an automatic and routine mindset for work. Of course, the younger children will need to have “play” in between lessons, but the older children will slip easily into an attitude of productivity when they enter that area. Your efforts to provide them with a great “work” area will pay-off for you and them.