Key to Homeschool Success - Organizing the Learning Environment

There are many different ways in which a parent can organize the environment in their home in order to make it more conducive to learning and teaching. Regardless of the technique or approach, there is no arguing with the importance of organization as it pertains to success in a homeschooling environment. Besides making it easier for students to learn and the teacher to teach, an organized homeschooling environment reduces stress and confusion, and promotes an increased focus on the classroom’s academic goals and objectives.

An organized classroom environment, especially a homeschool environment, is extremely important for academic success. It may after all, not be a classroom in the traditional sense, but it definitely should look and feel like one.

• Storage - Nothing creates more distractions in a homeschool classroom than clutter and disorganization. Having to dig through a pile of papers or not being able to find a comfortable place to sit because of an overflow of books makes for a poor learning environment. The use of baskets and corkboard for example, can help eliminate the clutter from loose papers and documents. At the same time, baskets and even coffee cans can be used to store and organize things like pencils, markers, and general classroom supplies.
• Designate a study area - It is important that children have access to a space that is dedicated to learning. This might mean giving up an entire room, or simply a section of a larger room. Whatever the decision, it is important to have this designated area. Once established, use it as an opportunity to teach a child how to stay organized by requiring that the area be maintained and kept organized.
• Delegate responsibility - Give the student a bit of responsibility by creating a cubby system and by using furniture with compartments which will allow them to do their part in keeping things neat and organized.
• Organize your approach- Besides the physical environment, the procedural environment in a homeschooling setting must also be organized. Routines and schedules that make use of designated centers can help in this area. Parents can develop centers dedicated to specific tasks or particular areas of learning, such as reading, writing, math, art, and science centers. These centers can be an effective way of organizing the time between lessons, which is often where a great deal of time is lost. When children have a designated place to go at a specific time of the day, they often make better use of their time.

The organization of a homeschool environment is extremely important to the overall success of the program. Parents must be willing to make physical changes to their home in order to create the feeling of an organized classroom or learning environment. In addition to physical changes, it is also important for parents to develop schedule, procedures, and routines that will help keep their daily efforts to educate more organized. By taking the time to organize the learning environment, more time can in turn be dedicated to learning in general.