Setting Up a Healthy
Distance-Learning Space
Supporting a child of any age in their distance-learning experience is a study in paradox: Keep it flex but stay on schedule; go lo-fi yet hyperfunctional. Now repeat. No one thing—be it a zoomies-taming chair or a notebook with a higher purpose—is the golden ticket to school-from-home success, but a few things can certainly help the cause. Including a space (kitchen tables and living room nooks welcome) that inspires healthy focus. Below, the supplies, gear, and organizational tools with the most potential to help students meet theirs. And a list of programs helping kids who are facing a set of obstacles that goes far beyond stuff.
DESKS + CHAIRS
-
Work from Home Desks
KIDS AT HOME DESK & STOOL
Work from Home Desks, $269SHOP NOWBreaks down easily, so you can tuck it away in a closet or stow it underneath their bed when it’s not in use.
-
Lalo
THE PLAY KIT
Lalo, $250SHOP NOWSleek, sustainable, and Scandinavian-inspired.
-
UPLIFT Desk
ERGONOMIC KNEELING
CHAIR
UPLIFT Desk, $99SHOP NOWMore ergonomic than a bar stool and more comfortable than any desk chair we’ve sat in.
-
InMovement
INMOVEMENT STANDING
DESK PRO DT20
goop, $399SHOP NOWWhat goes up also comes down: It has room for two screens and can be adjusted to their (growing) size.
-
Learniture
ADJUSTABLE-HEIGHT ACTIVE LEARNING STOOL
School Outfitters, $110SHOP NOWThree words: range of motion. It spins. It adjusts. It moves from side to side. All super helpful features if your kid is the wiggly type.
SUPPLIES
-
Sprout
THE ORIGINAL SPROUT PENCIL, 8 Pack
Sprout World, $15SHOP NOWEach plantable pencil contains teeny seedlings, so instead of tossing them in the trash, you can stick them in the soil and watch them bloom into baby herbs.
-
An Organised Life
2020/2021 MID YEAR
WEEKLY DIARY
goop, $35SHOP NOWIn a year when every day feels like Groundhog Day, there’s this to help keep track of projects, assignments, and of course, breaks.
-
An Organised Life
DREAMER NOTEBOOK
goop, $16SHOP NOWManifesting, sketching, ideating—this one goes out to all the little thinkers with big dreams.
-
Mochi Things
RETRACTABLE PERMANENT
MARKER SET, 12 PIECES
Mochi Things, $25SHOP NOWDoodling in class is better when nontoxic markers are involved.
-
Decomposition
NATURE LOVERS 6-SPIRAL BUNDLE
Decomposition, $49SHOP NOW -
The Dough Project
DOUGH IT YOURSELF
The Dough Project, $35SHOP NOWMake your own batch of plant-based playdough without the chemicals or artificial dyes.
-
Decomposition
DECOMPOSITION FOLDER, 5-PACK
Decomposition, $20SHOP NOWAnd the cutest, most earth-friendly recycled school supplies of the year award goes to…
-
Kid Made Modern
ARTS AND CRAFTS SUPPLY LIBRARY
Maisonette, $40SHOP NOWArts and crafts on crafts on crafts to stretch those imagination muscles.
organization
-
Poketo
SPECTRUM WALL PLANNER
Poketo, $48SHOP NOWAs helpful for them as it will be for you. It minimizes that “What day is it, again?” feeling.
-
Midori
PULP BOX
The Journal Shop, $12SHOP NOWMultipurpose boxes made out of recycled newspapers.
Go ahead and get multiples. -
Parkland
HIGHFIELD SMALL POUCH
Parkland, $10SHOP NOWA place for their pens, a home for their highlighters.
-
IKEA
RISATORP WIRE BASKET
IKEA, $13SHOP NOWMakes cleaning up and transporting school supplies from spot to spot considerably more manageable.
TECH
-
EyeJust
BLUE LIGHT BLOCKING SCREEN PROTECTOR
goop, $35SHOP NOWHelp minimize eye strain during PowerPoint presentations…
-
EyeJust
BLUE LIGHT BLOCKER
goop, $56SHOP NOW…and TikTok breaks.
-
Rin
PLYWOOD TABLET STAND
Yamazaki Home, $20SHOP NOWAs chic as it is sensible.
-
Puro Sound Labs
BT2200s VOLUME LIMITED
BLUETOOTH HEADPHONES
Puro Sound Labs, $90SHOP NOWStudio-grade audio quality with a built-in safeguard: The volume maxes out at eighty-five decibels to protect little ears.
WELLNESS
-
UMA
PURE CALM
goop, $85SHOP NOWApply to pulse points and repeat: “Distance learning will not break me…”
-
OPTP
LOROX ALIGNED DOME
goop, $28SHOP NOWIf your whole household is doing at-home everything, plan family acupressure breaks throughout the day. Or set the kids up with links to Lo’s goop stories so they can try on their own.
-
goop Wellness
NERD ALERT
goop, $55 for 60/$30 for 30SHOP NOWMother’s (or Father’s or Grandma’s or…) little helper.
-
vitruvi
Stone Diffuser
goop, $119SHOP NOWGet the kids stoked on their favorite scents, then teach them about each botanical and its benefits.
-
Horti
INDOOR PLANT SUBSCRIPTION
Horti, from $18 a monthSHOP NOWEverything you need—including care instructions, so they can learn a bit about botany—comes in the box.
-
The Coloring Method
DAILY SELF BLESSINGS
goop, $16SHOP NOWMore than a meditative break, this coloring book guides kids and adults alike through breathing exercises and self-kindness mantras.
give back
-
DonorsChooseDonate directly to the projects teachers need funded. Choose a school in your city or a subject close to your heart and look for donation-matching opportunities that double your contribution.
-
Room to Read Obama Foundation PartnershipHelp the Obama Foundation support girls’ education in Vietnam through programs and outreach that get—and keep—girls in school.
-
This is About HumanityBorder-crossing, cross-functional, and family-focused, TIAH raises awareness for separated and reunified families at the US-Mexico border, leads fund-raising efforts, and educates allies on the US asylum system. And now, it’s also providing kids at the border with the tools they need to keep up with their studies.
-
YoobiSupply a student in need with essential school supplies. Sending a full kit costs $18, and individual items like pencils and scissors cost as little as $2—an easy number to carve out of a kid’s allowance if they’re ready to make their first donation.
-
Para Los NiñosAn organization that cares for the whole child: Para Los Niños uses donations to provide Wi-Fi connections, school supplies, and fresh food for families in need.
-
The Schoolbox ProjectBy transforming unused, available spaces—from shipping containers to sidewalks—into classrooms in refugee camps and crisis situations, The Schoolbox Project provides children with trauma-informed education and art and play programs.
