Getting kids to study isn’t always easy. When your child gets home from school, they’ll be keen to enjoy time with their family, play, and engage in their favourite hobbies. While they might not like it, studying and homework are important in building their academic proficiencies and unlocking new opportunities for the future. Fortunately, parents can do a number of things to encourage a more peaceful and inspiring studying experience. Setting up a schedule and giving your kids access to the right studying environment, such as their own study corner, can make a huge difference.
Just as the design of your office will affect the way that you work, the design of a study corner or room can impact your child’s desire to learn. The good news is that designing a special space for studying in your home doesn’t have to be an expensive experience. The following tips will help you to build an educational oasis, without spending a fortune.
1. Choose the Right Area/Room
First, you’ll need to make sure that you’ve chosen the right space for your study corner or room. No child wants to be cramped in a broom closet learning calculus. Make sure there’s plenty of room for your child to move around if necessary, and there should definitely be space for a desk and chair.
The best room for a study environment is one that’s removed from other distractions. Keep your child away from the family or TV room where they might be distracted by noise. It’s also a good idea to avoid picking a room that might be overly exposed to the sound of traffic.
At the same time, remember that there are plenty of wide-open windows to allow for the flow of natural light into the room. Light is energising and inspiring, it will make your children feel more comfortable in their space.
Remember to pick colours for the walls that are light and simple too. You don’t want anything too bright that’s going to give your child a headache while they study, or anything that will suck the light out of the room.
2. Focus on the Essentials
Once you’ve picked the perfect space or room for your study corner, think about the furniture you need for your youngster. Furniture is likely to be the largest upfront cost you need to deal with for your new project. While it’s easy to get carried away, you can save a lot of money and space by focusing on the essentials.
Start by looking for a desk and chair that’s ergonomically designed to suit your child. Remember, children have different posture requirements from adults. It might be worth asking your child to come with you to find a chair that works for them.
Wall-mounted desks that fold down are ideal for small spaces too, so don’t be concerned if you need to fit your study corner into a segment of a room. Once you’ve got the desk and chair out of the way, you can begin to think about how much space you have leftover for things like cork-boards, calendars, and other accessories.
3. Be Practical
Remember, your home study space needs to be ready for studying at any time. That means that you need to avoid creating a space that just ends up accumulating piles of paperwork and endless pencils.
Make sure that the area stays organised by using pen pots and filing systems.
Some basic drawers where your child can store their homework when they’re done with it are always a good idea.
You can also add coat hooks onto the wall near the study area, so that book bags and sports bags aren’t just thrown into the corner to take up more space.
Keeping your child’s study space organised will help to avoid too much clutter in the environment.
Notably, studies have proven that clutter and mess cause feelings of stress and anxiety. That’s not the kind of atmosphere that your child needs when they’re trying to study.
4. Invest in the Right Educational Tools
A study corner rarely needs a lot of new investments when it comes to educational tools. Your child will often come home with much of the books and information he or she needs to complete projects from school.
However, they are going to need a few basic things, like a computer that they can use to type up documents and browse the internet.
To keep costs as low as possible, you could also consider using a tablet in place of a computer for kids that don’t need things like word processing tools. Tablets are packed full of computing power these days, and there are plenty of apps available in the marketplace that can contribute to your child’s education too. You can find apps for everything from building motor skills for toddlers, to developing a better understanding of topics like math and literacy for older children.
5. Make Their Study Corner Personal and Inspiring
Finally, you’re building your study corner on a budget, remember that you can still design something that’s inspiring and engaging for your youngster. Just because the only furniture in the corner might be a desk and chair, doesn’t mean that you can’t decorate the space with things that motivate your child.
Ask your child to help you choose pieces of art that they want to hang around their desk.
If you get report cards for your child or feedback from pieces of homework that they’ve completed before, then you can create a corkboard that tracks their progress over time.
Adding your own personal touch to the study space is important because it will help to keep your child in positive spirits when the time comes to study.
You can also add decoration to the corner that has nothing to do with study, in case your child needs a change of scenery. For instance, pictures of the family traveling together are a great option, as are artistic projects that you and your child have worked on together.
Build Your Study Corner
A study corner can be an excellent environment for encouraging educational exploration with your child. In this environment, your youngsters can discover the inspiration that they need to accomplish their academic goals. What’s more, you don’t need to spend a fortune to make your corner either! The tips above will help you to create the perfect space on a budget.
Have you created a study corner for your kids? Let us know your tips, tricks and advice in the comments section below.