Learning spaces and schedules

This academic school year is so uncertain for so many families. The past two weeks I have spoken to several parents that are struggling to make a decision regarding schooling this Fall. My advice is to prepare the aspects that are within your control such as preparing your home for back to school. Focus on setting up an encouraging and supportive learning environment in your home. There is preparation that can be started whether your child will return to the classroom or will be home learning.This preparation will set a positive and motivating tone and will give you a sense of control in an unpredictable time. Involve your child so that they can start to prepare themselves by creating their learning space at home.

The space should be clear, simple, comfortable, natural lighting, and more than one seating option. Simple may take some thought and planning. In my visits to classrooms for behavioral observations I am overwhelmed by the amount of print on the walls, furniture, and excessive amounts of stuff everywhere. We should take this opportunity to examine and revisit our processes. Can all this clutter cloud the child’s thought process? Let me give you a visual.

"First we'll bombard you with what educators call a print-rich environment, every wall and surface festooned with a vertiginous array of labels, vocabulary list, calendars, graphs, classroom rules, alphabet lists, number charts, and inspirational platitudes - few of those symbols you will be able to decode, a favorite buzzword for what used to be known as reading"

Resource:

Bennett, Colette. "Stop Classroom Clutter." ThoughtCo, Feb. 11, 2020, thoughtco.com/decorating-your-classroom-4077035.

Think empty space with minimal supplies, tools and books. The space should have comfortable seating where the child has feet grounded. There are several seating options that allow for movement increasing focus.

Once you have established a simple and comfortable space there should be a dry erase board or tool where a schedule is visible for the child. A schedule is the second most important tool in a learning space. Children and teens tend to always have an agenda in mind that is not typically aligned what the expectations of their parent or teacher. Often my recommendations for implementing a schedule and adhering to a routine can seem simplistic and parent’s question how can it be the solution to a child’s challenges with focus, impulsivity, forgetfulness and inflexibility. Here are some reasons why a schedule helps so much:

Schedules target specific skill gaps as follows:

• Focus requires prompting and redirection when distracted : the child can look to schedule to get back on track

• Impulsivity requires boundaries, structure, order and minimal temptations in surroundings:

  • Schedule provides assigned times and tasks to assist with getting started.

    • Scheduling specific breaks with movement to address impulsivity

    • Scheduling break where child can do a preferred or fun activity

• Forgetfulness requires reminders:

  • redirecting the child to review the schedule to see next task

• Inflexibility requires advance notice and visual redirection:

  • visual notice of what to expect next encourages flexibility

Home learning schedules should be more efficient allowing for more flexibility in timing and instruction. The ultimate goal in having a schedule is to promote independence and self-sufficiency. Scheduling is modeling and supporting the child in self-directing their home learning day.

Stay tuned for posts on curriculum and scheduling samples. -Ana