Easy Homeschool Setup Ideas for the Covid-19 School Year

We’ve all faced a lot of really difficult decisions these past few months, including decisions around our kids’ education.  When we learned our district was going to be fully virtual for an undetermined period of time, I knew I needed to set up a “school” space for our kids at home.  And both of my kiddos have only ever known Montessori-style learning, so I also knew it had to be a very functional, hands-on space.  So, while we no longer have an actual dining room (who needs one of those anyway?), we do now have a pretty organized space for the kids that I actually wish we’d set up a long time ago!  They can actually see and access all of their activities now, and are “discovering” things they’ve had forever and are now able to readily enjoy.

Here are a few things that have turned out to be really helpful in organizing our “school” space and have made it fun and functional for the kids.

1.  Open, low shelving and graded bookcase

Most people probably already have one or both of these, so this is likely an easy start!  We had to purchase both, but it gave me the opportunity to shop around for matching pieces that didn’t break that bank.  (It also gave me a chance to test out my ability to follow building directions…let’s just say that several pieces of our shelving are backwards…and are totally staying that way). 

Open, low shelving, especially in the Montessori setting, allows for easy access to each activity for the little ones—they can see and reach everything, which is key for their autonomy.  And the low, graded bookcase lets you pack in a lot of books while still allowing the littlest of littles to see the titles!    

2.  Trays or clear bins for storing activities

I definitely stole this from our lovely Montessori classrooms, in part because the kids are used to this methodology, but mostly because it’s so organized and functional.  And easy!  If activities don’t already come in a functional container, you can arrange them on a tray or in a clear bin so the kids can see everything easily, and from the low shelving, they can simply choose a tray or bin and bring it to their workspace.  It also lends itself to containing (mostly, anyway) messy activities like water or rice pouring.  I used a mix of clear acrylic trays (good for water activities) and wooden trays of different sizes.  And I love the clear bins, which are stackable and have connected lids. 

3.  Mats

We have two kinds of mats in a basket.  One mat (another idea stolen from our Montessori class) is a woven and comfy activity mat, which can be brought out for any activity so there is a designated space for your child to sit and work.  The other mat I found is what we’re using as an “art mat,” which is silicone and can be pulled out for anything artsy.  This helps prevent all those little crayon and marker lines from getting on floors or tables.  I also love the mats because they give the kids a chance to practice practical life skills (unrolling and rolling up their mats and putting them away), and they encourage clean-up, because your child has to clean up the activity on the mat before the mat can be put away! 

4.  Posters!

Posters are a super inexpensive, easy, and cute way to make the learning space seem more like school.  We included the alphabet, months, time, numbers, and shapes in our space, but there are a ton to choose from, including more advanced math posters for older children.  We also put up a feelings poster (from Generation Mindful) next to the cozy reading nook, which can be used as a “time-in” space where kiddos can identify their feelings and have some space to process their emotions (which, for all of us, are all over the place this year!).  Frankly, I think we could all use a safe time-in space to process our feelings.

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I think for most of us this time has been a mix of frustration, gratitude, fear, confusion, and growth.  I’ve been so grateful for the women in my life who have been inspirations, and the mentors I have in my kids’ amazing teachers, all of whom have contributed to the creation of our little learning space.  I also found a lot of amazing activities and inspiration at montessoriservices.com.

I hope a couple of these ideas are helpful to you too!