How to Create a Fun Home Learning Space for Kids

Creating a dedicated learning space for kids is about more than moving their workbooks off the kitchen bench. For kids to get really excited about learning at home, they need a comfortable place that inspires them, sparks their creativity and feels truly theirs. We’ve compiled the coolest, most effective kids' room ideas and tips for study areas and spaces. You won’t be able to get their noses out of their books.

Minimise Distractions

Get organised for optimal at-home learning with these storage ideas for kids rooms

Getting them to stay focused is half your battle. Keep study spaces relatively clean and uncluttered by using storage solutions for school gear, craft supplies and toys. Simple plastic bins – you could even colour-code them to provide a visual cue – placed on low shelves make it easy for kids to both access their stuff and learn to put it away. Make sure there’s a comfortable chair but provide another option for kids who can’t sit still. An exercise ball can be subbed in – not only is it fun to sit on but its instability requires some muscle activation, improving core strength and posture.

Get Kids Involved in Designing the Space

If a learning area is tailored towards the tastes of a child, they’ll want to spend time in it and feel a greater sense of ownership, which encourages them to look after it. Older kids may have very specific ideas about the kind of room they want, so allow your child to choose a colour-scheme and custom artworks to make the study area a place they want to be. Encourage them to pursue their creative interests, whether that’s photography, sewing or painting, and fill the shelves with the relevant paraphernalia.

Give Them Space with Room to Move

Kids room ideas for alternative study spaces and play areas to help them learn at home

Think laterally about how kids will use learning areas and give them the freedom to move around to suit their various activities. Homework can be completed at a small desk, creative tasks – think collage-making and model-building – can happen on a rug, and books can be read while lying on a bed.

Use Natural Light to Boost Kids’ Learning

Many studies show that natural light is imperative for learning, creativity and wellbeing. One, conducted on 21,000 US primary school children, showed that in one school year, kids exposed to more sunlight in their classrooms had 26% higher reading outcomes and 20% higher maths outcomes than children in less sunny rooms. A light-filled playroom-slash-kids’-workspace is guaranteed to stimulate imaginations.

Blue Is the Perfect Colour for a Study Nook

Kids room ideas to help them study: what colours to use for better at-home learning

When you think of kids’ room ideas, you’ll naturally lean towards using colour. Children tend to be attracted to the bright primary colours of the colour-wheel, and it’s not all aesthetics. Scientists have found that blue evokes feelings of contentment in children and causes a slower pulse rate and a lower body temperature. Other studies have found blue is an excellent colour to encourage creative tasks such as brainstorming. Create your own wallpaper in a bright blue hue or consider a lick of blue paint, and provide plenty of creative supplies for when those lightbulb moments hit.

A Place for Kids to Read, Learn and Play

Play is an integral part of education, so a playroom/workspace that combines fun and learning is a winning combination. Storage baskets, set low to make them accessible to small people, can hold toys, paints, markers and other crafty bits and pieces, keeping the floor and desk free of clutter. Clean, comfy floors with plenty of places to sit and lie are necessary in study rooms for young kids, where much of the action takes place on the ground.

Keep Kids Interested

Kids room ideas: toys and accessories you need to keep them stimulated and engaged

Young children need a wide range of hands-on activities to keep them stimulated and engaged. Provide plenty of different activities for them – think an abacus, 10-pin bowling set, new library books – and rotate them around every few weeks so kids don’t lose interest. A treasure-trove of colourful, educational toys will encourage the development of fine motor skills, literacy and numeracy: musical instruments, alphabet stacking blocks, balls and a blackboard for writing and drawing are all excellent options for a younger child’s learning space.