The basic necessities for online learning to work are a robust internet connection and a gadget for each student to be able to attend online classes. Another challenge for parents (and children) is to make a place in the home into a child’s learning space.

I asked a mother of three teenage boys what her sons considered important for their study areas.

Plain-Colored Walls

Paint your walls one color for those Zoom classes. The best colors are white, beige, other light neutrals, and pale pastels.

Painting Ideas | Learning Spaces at Home | MyBoysen

The paint color swatches are of a pale yellow (Lavish Lemon | BCP-0831) and a light sage (Picnic Hat | V-12C). Both are calming colors and give a space a pleasant and natural ambience, which would be a great vibe for a learning space.

Read this article to know more about how to get your walls Zoom-meeting ready.

Painting Ideas | Learning Spaces at Home | MyBoysen

The paint color swatches By the Lake (V-17B) and Viola (BPC-1154) are also good color alternatives for the walls in a study space.

Furniture and Other Requirements

There are other things that are needed in the space:

  1. Add a study table and comfortable chair. Considering the paint color swatches above, have these in white to give a crisp and clean feel, or in light wood for a warm and cozy vibe.
  2. Good lighting. Having the study nook near a window would be a plus to get natural light. If it would become too hot, then add some blinds to be able to control the intensity of the light coming in. Make sure there is a task lamp at hand should the necessity arise to have more light.
  3. Good ventilation. An open window would allow fresh air to come in. Have a quiet electric fan nearby for the warm days. If the family can afford it, turning on the air conditioner could help a child focus on the modules especially during hot summer days.
  4. Put some air-purifying plants in the space to reduce carbon dioxide and remove pollutants in the air from usual suspects like mattresses and sofas, household cleaning products, carpets, furnitures, etc. There are many plants that are easy to maintain that can do the job, like peace lily, aloe vera, spider plant, boston fern, or snake plant. Succulents are known to produce oxygen through the night and purify the air. They are beautiful too, and so easy to take care of.
  5. Beef up the number of electrical sockets in the space. In this age of gadgets, three are not enough; it is better to double that.

Tip: Use Boysen Healthy Home for learning spaces. This paint is odor-less and anti-bacterial, which gives an extra defense against bacteria such as E. coli and Salmonella, as well as mildew and fungus.

Software Solutions

Time management can be a challenge for online learners. The boys recommended to use Todoist or Notion. 2020 Editor’s Choice by Google, “Todoist is the best to-do list app right now.” Notion is an app that brings all your tools in one place. Both apps are free to use.

They also miss the social contact and the healthy competition in face-to-face classes. One boy said, “Having people to work with helps maintain a level of healthy ‘peer pressure’ that is often not found in a very relaxed home; most students converge in Discord to study together.”

Let’s listen to the digital natives; they know best.

If you want to share more tips and advice on how to make study spaces at home more conducive to learning, feel free to write down your suggestions in the comment section.

For those who work from home, click this link to see some home office ideas.

Author

Annie is the Managing Editor of Let it B | MyBoysen Blog. An unrepentant workaholic, she runs this blog and her own company Talking Lions (https://talkinglions.com). She thrives on collaborating with people who are good at what they do, and working together with them to create something special. Annie learned interior styling while managing her own wholesale business in the Netherlands, importing high-end, handmade home furnishings to stock four outlets and a showroom in the country.

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