How to Create Effective Study Environment for Kids: Step-by-Step Guide

Creating an Effective Learning Space For Your Child, Step-by-Step with avidii 

Your child most likely has a designated working area for homework time—and if they don’t, it’s definitely time to decide on one! Having a dedicated workspace for your child can be a massive booster for their learning capacity, motivation and ability to focus. Here are a few key elements that make up good learning environments; you might consider taking these into account, according to your child’s specific needs and learning personality, when attempting to build an effective workspace for them.

Step-1: Location

👉Common Areas

The placement of your child’s workspace is the most important factor to their overall focus and productivity, depending on their learning style. Here, pay attention to your child’s needs before you decide on a location for their desk. You can try to observe their behaviour during study sessions, or even bring it up in conversation to find out what kind of environment they would prefer to work in. For younger children, a desk in a central or shared space in the house, such as the living room or a common area, might be a good way to give them their own space while allowing you to supervise or keep track of them. Some older students with heavy workloads may also sometimes prefer their workspaces to be in shared spaces, to avoid feeling isolated.

👉Personal Spaces

Other children with different learning styles might benefit more from having their workstation in their own rooms, or any other personal spaces. Younger children who are easily distracted might require spaces with fewer people around them to be able to focus on their work. Many older children generally prefer having their desks in their own spaces, to avoid distractions and to be able to set the environment to their liking.

Step-2: Technology

There is a fine line between effective use of technology and time-wasting overuse, especially when it comes to young students. The key is to find the right balance that allows your child to use digital devices to keep their work organised, while remaining disciplined in their use of technology for leisure.

👉Technology for Organisation

Devices like laptops and desktop computers can be excellent tools for students, particularly for those in high school. Online applications and tools can be the most effective ways to keep class notes, study notes and other resources organised and trackable. Organisation applications can be very helpful for students to keep their to-do lists, notes, journal/diaries, resource lists, and so on, orderly and easy to access. Other basic applications like Word, PowerPoint and Canva, might be necessary tools your child would need for school projects and assignments. To help them achieve these goals, you might consider investing in a dedicated device for their study-time use.

👉Avoiding Distraction and Procrastination

On the flip side, digital devices are infamous for being a primary source of distraction and wasted time for children and adults alike. If your child is self-motivated and disciplined enough to regulate themselves with little to no interference from you, you’ve gotten lucky! Most middle and high school students, however, need varying levels of regulation to keep themselves in check as to how much of their time goes into leisure activities on their devices. When giving your child access to devices to do their schoolwork, you may need to oversee their study sessions to help them ensure that they achieve their goals without too much time getting spent on other activities.

Step-3: Other Supplies

👉Stationery

Besides digital devices, you want to equip your child’s workstation with any essential supplies they might need, including stationery, basic arts-and-craft supplies, paper and notebooks.

👉Organisation

Keeping the workspace strictly neat and organised is an essential part of creating an effective study environment for your child. You might consider investing in wall or desk organisers, especially if your child is in high school, and has a large volume of study material to store and keep track of. Supplies like folders and pen stands, as well as desk calendars and pinup boards, might all be useful for your child to keep track of their supplies, work material and timelines.

Step-4: Sound

👉Silence and Ambient Noise

Surrounding noise makes a big difference to the workspace environment, and consequently for your child's productivity. For this step, you’ll want to make sure you talk with your child to see whether they prefer silence or need some amounts of surrounding noise to work well and keep focus. If they work best in silence, setting up their workspaces in an isolated part of your house is your best bet. Alternatively, some students prefer some amount of ambient noise when they study; if this is the case, consider setting up their desks by a window, or closer to common areas in the house.

👉Music

Many students maximise focus and are able to keep their motivation high with dedicated playlists of music for their work time. Playing music during study-time may sound like a bad idea to you, if you prefer quiet work atmospheres yourself—but do consider investing in a simple speaker or headphones for your child if they express that they work best with music playing.

Step-5: Lighting

The last element to consider when creating an optimal work environment for your child is the lighting in your chosen area. Ensure that the space is well-lit with natural light, ideally near a window. If such a placement is difficult, ensure that there is enough artificial lighting in the space. Additionally, you can add a desk lamp to the space, especially of your child is older and in the habit of working during the night hours,

With all of these elements taken care of and checked off the list, your chances of helping your child maximise their productivity and motivation, in their new, dedicated workspaces, will increase exponentially!