Key to Homeschool Success - Organizing the Learning Environment

There are many different ways in which a parentdesignated area. Once established, use it as an
can organize the environment in their home inopportunity to teach a child how to stay
order to make it more conducive to learning andorganized by requiring that the area be maintained
teaching. Regardless of the technique or approach,and kept organized.
there is no arguing with the importance of- Delegate responsibility - Give the student a bit
organization as it pertains to success in aof responsibility by creating a cubby system and
homeschooling environment. Besides making itby using furniture with compartments which will
easier for students to learn and the teacher toallow them to do their part in keeping things neat
teach, an organized homeschooling environmentand organized.
reduces stress and confusion, and promotes an- Organize your approach- Besides the physical
increased focus on the classroom's academicenvironment, the procedural environment in a
goals and objectives.homeschooling setting must also be organized.
An organized classroom environment, especially aRoutines and schedules that make use of
homeschool environment, is extremely importantdesignated centers can help in this area. Parents
for academic success. It may after all, not be acan develop centers dedicated to specific tasks or
classroom in the traditional sense, but it definitelyparticular areas of learning, such as reading,
should look and feel like one.writing, math, art, and science centers. These
- Storage - Nothing creates more distractions in acenters can be an effective way of organizing the
homeschool classroom than clutter andtime between lessons, which is often where a
disorganization. Having to dig through a pile ofgreat deal of time is lost. When children have a
papers or not being able to find a comfortabledesignated place to go at a specific time of the
place to sit because of an overflow of booksday, they often make better use of their time.
makes for a poor learning environment. The useThe organization of a homeschool environment is
of baskets and corkboard for example, can helpextremely important to the overall success of the
eliminate the clutter from loose papers andprogram. Parents must be willing to make physical
documents. At the same time, baskets and evenchanges to their home in order to create the
coffee cans can be used to store and organizefeeling of an organized classroom or learning
things like pencils, markers, and general classroomenvironment. In addition to physical changes, it is
supplies.also important for parents to develop schedule,
- Designate a study area - It is important thatprocedures, and routines that will help keep their
children have access to a space that is dedicateddaily efforts to educate more organized. By taking
to learning. This might mean giving up an entirethe time to organize the learning environment,
room, or simply a section of a larger room.more time can in turn be dedicated to learning in
Whatever the decision, it is important to have thisgeneral.