One of the biggest differences between traditional school vs online school or homeschool is the capability to study at the location of choice. As an online student, you are not limited to a classroom; you can study wherever you feel most comfortable. That could be a coffee shop. It could even be a barn.

With so many choices on where to study, making sure your child enjoys the freedom while still staying disciplined can be a concern. We get that.

That’s why we compiled a few ideas to get you deciding where your student will best learn.

Quiz: Which Place is Best for Your Student to Study?

You have options, but if you’d like to see which might work best for your child’s personality, take the quiz! Or check out some great ideas below.

1. The Favorite Spot on the Couch

With some favorite cozy socks, of course.

Starting the morning stress free can be a huge benefit of online school, you can read more on that here.

There’s no rushing to make they catch the bus or stress of receiving yet another tardy slip. Your student can log in and start coursework on their own time. Of course, starting schoolwork later means finishing work later, but you have that choice!

Sometimes mornings call for leisure. If your child often needs time to ‘wake up’ in the mornings, then we recommend they head to a favorite spot on the couch. Get those favorite cozy socks out, grab a morning snack, log in and get working.

While on break during work or practice

Knock out some homework during downtime.

If your student has a busy schedule, you know all too well that spare time doesn’t come easily. That’s why we suggest seeing how they can monetize their time. When you have a lunch break, try to knock out a small assignment.

It will help your student get that much further ahead in classes once they finally arrive home for the day.

3. In the living room

It’s hard to get distracted when mom sees what you’re working on.

Sometimes the living room isn’t a smart choice. It can be one of the noisiest places in your home. But the nice part about that noisy family is that they can be a great support group too.

But if it is the right environment, the living room is a place where your student feels comfortable, yet you can easily help them stay on track. After all, it’d be difficult to spend time on social media and YouTube when mom sees what you’re doing. That way, you can help them stay disciplined to get homework done for the day.

4. At a desk or table

Somewhere designated is best when the brain doesn’t feel motivated.

While studying on the couch is always cozy, you should also consider finding a desktop or table for the times that require more focus. Here’s why:

The brain makes associations with each place you go. For example, when you go to your bed, your brain associates that with sleeping. When you go to the couch, your brain associates that with relaxing.

That means if your student needs more help focusing, you should have them study somewhere they usually work. A table and desktop are great places to help your brain know it’s time to work.

As one online instructor, Ms. Day said:

“If you do homework in your bed where you sleep, it’s likely going to make you want to take a nap rather than do math homework. Go somewhere you know you won’t get distracted (or leave) until you finish homework. Make that your routine and doing homework there will become as natural as taking a nap in your bed is.”

5. The great outdoors

Nothing recharges the brain like fresh air. 

You would still need an internet connection. But studying outdoors is a great way to get a change of atmosphere while learning.

Sometimes switching up the environment can make a huge impact on your child’s motivation to study. It can be much better than sitting in a classroom seat, at least!

Whether that be your backyard, the park, the beach or even a barn (sure, why not?) have them try studying there.