191: Karen Aronian—Working At Home Now? How To Reinvent Your House

Learn how to “see” the space in your house differently

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been watching so many friends, families and colleagues trying to figure out how to organize their homes for themselves and their children. We invited Dr. Karen Aronian to join us for this podcast focused on how to think about space through a fresh lens. As you will hear, she talks about pausing for a moment and looking at your home as if it was a learning center, which it really is. If ever there was a time to listen in, now is it. Enjoy.

For years, you have been training (or teaching) your kids in your home 

As our children’s first teachers, we encourage and guide their early development in our everyday decisions and the environments in which we live. Most of us just never thought about it like we must think about it now. If you are a home-schooling parent, you have thought about it carefully, but this is not home-schooling time. It is a time for distance learning. And, that means more learning needs to happen than just what is coming from your child’s teacher. Ready or not, we have to step up and be educators as well as parents. In this podcast, Karen shows us how.

Some of the areas Karen asks you to consider:

• Could your kitchen morph into an experiment center and training site where chemistry can be learned and cooking can be carried out?
• Kids learn in different ways — some verbal, others aural, some through active learning. Think about how your child learns best and help him/her through this distance learning period by coming up with some clever, creative ways to learn at home.
• If you’ve asked a parent or in-law to help, make sure they can see the spaces differently too.
• You and your partner may be working in your basement or bedroom, while your kids are working in the living room or kitchen. Try rotating during the day so everyone has light and air and time to stretch their bodies and their brains, including you.

Karen also will give you lots of ideas about colors, and how tonality can help with your moods

Space is without meaning until we give it meaning. You are changing the way you work at home now. The spaces in your home now have new meaning. Be intentional, not casual, about how you think about and use your home and you’ll find that it truly can be a learning center for all of you.

Recent national news broadcasts featuring Karen and her education expertise

• CBS News: Nationwide school closures make learning difficult for students
• CBS This Morning: Students without internet access in danger of falling behind during school closures
• i24News: How to keep kids engaged with distance learning

About Dr. Karen Aronian

Dr. Karen Aronian Ed.M., Ed.D. is the principal of Aronian Education Design, a full-service education design firm which creates environments and content for children and families. Having worked in education and design for over 30 years, Dr. Aronian teaches pre-K through university level, in public and private schools, both inner city and suburbia. An expert on education and parenting, Dr. Aronian is an education policy fellow with Columbia University and a highly-regarded columnist featured in numerous publications, including Parents magazine.

You can reach Karen at kr50@tc.edu.