Find homeschool decor ideas to help make your home both stylish and an ideal environment for learning.
This upcoming fall we will start homeschooling our oldest child, so naturally I have been trying to figure out how to make our home homeschool ready. I feel like this has been on my mind for awhile. I’ve always felt the pull to homeschool so I’ve kind of acquired things that I wanted to put into use during that season.
Well that season of life is fast approaching, and I’ve started bringing those things out and including them in our everyday decor. I don’t want our home to look like an elementary classroom, but I do want it to feel like an environment that encourages learning. I thought I’d share some of those things in case anyone else finds themselves wanting both a stylish home and an environment that hopefully helps to encourages life long learning.
1. Books and Bookcases
Ok I have been finding myself wanting to put a bookcase in every room and nook of our home. This cozy/cottagey vibe that is popular at the moment and somewhat timeless I think has already been inspiring this need in me for more books and bookcases. Then we bring in the fact that we are looking at starting homeschool this year and it’s a no brainer.
I just put this small bookcase in our kitchen, partially because I’ve been wanting a better place for our cookbooks. I’ve also stuck a few homeschool books and printouts here because it’s easy to access when sitting at our dining room table. I’m trying to get into the habit and routine of homeschool before we actually need to start, so just adding this bookcase and making these things more accessible has been such a game changer.
Style wise I love how this little bookcase looks here. I think the contrast of it being an older item in a newly renovated kitchen is perfection. It makes it feel more lived in and less precious. Also the fact that this used to hold my mom’s books when she was a little girl is just so sweet.
All that to say feel free to add bookcases where you maybe wouldn’t usually see one. I don’t think many people have one on their kitchen counter, but making those books and materials more accessible can be both stylish and practical. (also peep that printer in the corner, it has really come in handy whether printing a recipe or more homeschool material)
2. Chalkboards
This may be another obvious one but a chalkboard is so fun and classic. The kids love to play on it, and that alone can help make learning so much easier.
If you had a separate homeschool room and you wanted to really lean into this idea you could frame and paint a large chalkboard on the wall. Maybe at some point when our guest room/homeschool room is more finished we will do something like that. At this point however, I’m not ready for that.
I like the little chalkboard easel we have at this point. It’s kind of a classic look, and it can be fun to use it as a decoration around the different holidays just by writing a little something on it. Around Christmas time you could also add some greenery to the top of it or a little banner, lots of fun options.
It’s also really nice to have the flexibility to move it to different areas of our home. When the weather is nice we could move it out onto our porch that is close by. Feel free to go as big or little as feels right for you and your home. (also if you didn’t notice the old school pencil sharpener to the left, it’s been nice for the kids to be able to sharpen their own pencils)
3. Globes and Maps
I have always found myself drawn to globes especially but also maps. They make me think of travel and this big world we are a part of. Obviously for homeschool reasons they can be a good tool for learning.
We have a few globes scattered around our home that I love also because they have been in our family for awhile. I’ve thought it would be cool to get one of those old school maps that you can pull down or roll it up. I wouldn’t mind hanging one of those over the tv in the living room at some point, but I haven’t found the right one at the right price yet.
I also have this map I’m thinking we may hang on the back of the Murphy bed in the guest room/homeschool room. Whenever that gets done. Not sure it will be done before school starts at this point.
Globes and maps are classic and beautiful and useful for homeschool. Plus you can usually snag some older ones for a decent price. Although I feel like they have become more popular.
4. Calendars and Charts
Maybe you already have a family calendar, but it can be twice as useful now for teaching your little ones. There’s lots of stylish calendars whether you go the chalkboard route like we have or dry erase. This can be a great tool to have your child help add the month and dates to the calendar each month, at least that’s how I see use using ours in the future.
We have had our calendar for a long time, and I love how it looks but also how practical it is for our household to see what is coming up. As far as charts go I found this one at Target a few years ago for fairly cheap. I hung it in the playroom so we can see it everyday and go over the days of the week and weather. It’s not the most stylish but I don’t mind it in the play room.
There’s also little wooden charts you can get that you can basically do the same kinds of things with. I’ve been tempted by those as well. Again feel free to go as big or little as you like with this idea in your home.
5. Abacus or Counting Frame
I recently became intrigued with these. I can see them being really useful to visualize and comprehends addition and subtraction, but also decor wise I think they can be so beautiful.
The more antique abaci are the prettiest of course but even this one in our playroom I think is really fun and I can’t wait to put it to use when we homeschool. For now it’s fun for them to mess around with, and I think it’s a cute addition to our playroom.
6. Musical Instruments
So obviously a piano can be so pretty. We have one that my husband learned to play on when he was younger. I love how it looks all the time, but especially during the holidays it gives that classic homey vibe. The kids already have a blast on it, but I hope that one day at least one of them will want to learn to play.
Other instruments like guitars or violins can be really pretty hanging on a wall. I think whatever your family is drawn to or what one of your family members already plays you should feel free to lean into and celebrate that.
Also along those lines I think using sheet music as a decoration can also be a great decoration, and encouragement for the little ones to learn how to read sheet music. Again picturing sheet music displayed in a frame or maybe a big print of it on the wall during the holidays would be so pretty.
7. Gym Equipment
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Ok this one is not necessarily the most stylish and I debated on whether to include it, but I think it can be done well. Although gym was not my favorite class in school I think it’s important our children move and strengthen their muscles. In the winter time it seems especially important to have some gear to help encourage movement.
We have a bit of a play set in our playroom that we put up in the cold dreary months. This “play set” includes these wooden gymnastic rings that clip into these little ceiling brackets, and a yoga swing that one of our kiddos uses to spin and swing all around. Plus we have a small trampoline set up in the corner for all the bouncing (I’ve actually started using this myself after hearing about the health benefits).
Again not the most stylish, but I think it’s important for our kiddos to get out their energy in a healthy way. I also think you can get away with these items easier in a less formal room like a playroom. If you have a home gym that could work well. Or even in the kids bedrooms could be doable depending on your home.
I have thought about those wooden climbing triangles. Those things can be so cute. We don’t really have room for that at the moment, but I’ve definitely considered them. I’ve also thought about some short wooden balance beams, but not sure where I would fit those unless I rotated these things around. Just thought I’d throw out a couple more ideas if you are considering adding some items like this.
Final Thoughts
I hope this helped to give you some ideas, or help you think of other things you would like to bring into your home. I think when done with intention we can make learning easier in our every day home environment, and make it aesthetically pleasing. If you would like to find some other design ideas from me you can find those here.
We are working slowly but surely to fix up our old farmhouse if you want to go back to the beginning of our journey you can find that here. We have since fixed up a lot of our downstairs so click through to see what we have shared of that, and stay tuned for the rest of the room reveals. Thank you for visiting our homestead.