Schooling Environment

Students school in a variety of schooling environments. Perhaps your family has a room available as specific only to schooling. Perhaps your student will need to school at the kitchen table. Wherever it is that your student will be schooling, it is important that your student is set up for success.

Tips to consider:

  • While a student may prefer to school in his/her bedroom, it is important that the Learning Coach is actively monitoring the student during the school day. Checking in on the student "once in awhile" is not recommended. While interacting with a student regarding their schooling, ask specific questions. Ask your student to show what they read and the assignment they completed.
  • A student's main role while schooling at home is to focus on their education. A student should not have other responsibilities such as providing daycare for younger siblings.
  • Typically, distractions going on around a student will negatively impact a student's ability to concentrate. If a tv is on in the background, if younger siblings are nearby, or if others are in conversation-these may all affect one's ability to focus.
  • Have a dedicated space where your student can store their school items. This will help your student to know where to start and end each school day. This will also help to encourage school related items to be organized, instead of misplaced among other family personal items.
  • Your student must have daily access to a computer and internet to complete school requirements.

Organization Tips:

  • It will be beneficial for each student to have an area specific for their school items. Having an organized area will help the Learning Coach and students. It will help everyone save time in finding items and reduce stress in knowing where to store and retrieve items. This can also help young students become more independent- knowing where to go to locate their schooling items. This may be a simple as a cardboard box or plastic tote to store items for each student or as elaborate as each student having a separate desk for storage. Another idea would be color coding items for each student. You could use colored storage bins, colored stickers, or colored labels.
  • Students can organize their subjects by color to help to easily find items needed for each subject. A student could use a green color folder and notebook for science, red color folder and notebook for math, etc. The student will visually be able to see which items to use for each class. Another idea is to use one binder specific to each class, with the binder clearly labeled. Some students may prefer to have a large binder to use for multiple classes.
  • Keep all worksheets or assignments that a student completed and place them into the student's binder/folder for the subject. The student's teacher may request to have the assignment turned in. Being able to quickly locate the assignment will reduce stress on the Learning Coach and student.

The key with organization is to be consistent. Start each day with items in their stored area. Students will know where to locate their items. After the student finishes with the items, the student will return the items to the school storage area. At the end of the school day, all schooling items should be returned to the school storage area. The student will be ready to go for the next school day.