Making Your Home a Natural Learning Environment

by Thomas Armstrong, PhD

Most people think of school as a place where learning takes place, but perhaps you'd be surprised to realize that it's actually the home where most of the child's real education goes on. Children spend only a few hours a day, five days a week at school. The rest of the time they're actively playing, fighting, dreaming, eating, and learning in the home and its surroundings.

Make the most of this natural learning environment by providing a number of areas around the house where your child can engage in active exploration.

• See that there's an open space in the backyard or basement for physical games, creative movement, and vigorous exercise.
• Provide a quiet special place where your child can go for privacy, especially if he doesn't have his own room.
• Provide a social space where he can have fun with his friends.
• Create an area in the house that caters to your child's specialty, for example an art area if he's a budding artist or a space for a chemistry lab if he's a little scientist.

By allowing for a broad spectrum of activity levels and styles, you're making your home the best of all possible learning places for your child.

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