Hygge in the Classroom
It’s never easy to say goodbye to summer and get back into a routine. Unknowns like sickness and new grade levels can make it feel especially heavy.
Enter hygge in the classroom!
Through the chaos and unknown that getting ready for a new year can bring, I find myself falling back into familiar comforts more and more.
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New homeschool goals
After I had my fourth baby, I knew we needed more than structure and routines to get back into our homeschooling.
I needed to give us a cozy learning environment that really created a sense of gathering and family. I wanted to create a calm, happy, and comforting environment for our homeschool to create a stronger sense of gathering and family.
If I’m being honest, bringing home our baby boy left the older girls in a bit of a jealous scramble.
A new baby always shakes things up, and siblings sort of test boundaries to see where the baby fits in the pecking order.
But being the first and only boy, it really felt like my preschooler and toddler, and even kindergartener, needed us to focus on the home part of our homeschooling.
What happens when you truly blend home and school
I knew I wanted to continue homeschooling, despite having a newborn.
And I’m a huge advocate for slow living. I really strive to make our home my kids’ happy place. Somewhere they can feel safe and accepted for the beautiful, goofy, kind, awesome kids they are!
The thought of mixing all things school with all we have going on at home felt like a lot.
We needed the coziest environment that felt less classroom-y and put the focus on being a team and learning together.
The answer? We needed more hygge.
What is hygge?
Described in “The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living” by Meik Wiking, hygge, pronounced “hoo-gah” is best translated as “cozy”.
Although here’s no direct translation to English, hygge is basically a calm and cozy atmosphere in everyday, simple things to create a feeling of happiness.
Some examples of hygge are:
- Drinking a hot cup of coffee on the front porch to the sound of kids laughing
- Knitting a pair of soft wool socks in the sunroom while birds tweet at the feeder
- Reading a favorite book while listening to falling rain outside
Now, hygge is totally different for everyone. Those examples are my idea of hygge, the perfect way to spend my time. For some people, it’s planting flowers in the garden. And for others it’s sitting down with a puzzle while watching TV.
If you find yourself at work or stuck in traffic thinking “man, I wish I was home doing ___ right now”, that thing you’re thinking of is your hygge.
Why is hygge important for kids?
The amount of stress that school puts on kids, especially teens, is crazy high.
The APA reports that teen stress rivals that of adults, with 31% feeling overwhelmed and 30% feeling depressed or sad as a result of stress (apa.org).
Heck, even preschoolers get stressed!
And I don’t know about you, but I don’t want school stress blending into our home and family time.
Why do we need hygge in the classroom?
Entering a new grade or going through a big change like having a new sibling cause huge amounts of stress in our kids.
Hygge in the classroom is such a game changer no matter where your classroom is. Teachers in schools can also benefit from most of these ideas to create a welcoming space at school.
But as homeschool moms, I feel like we can really amp up the cozy in our own in-home classrooms to keep stress levels down and bring family together.
Hygge in the classroom
Your home should always be a relaxing place, but the waters get a little murky when part of it is used as a school or office.
When you make room for hygge in the classroom, you’re taking some of the stress and anxiety of learning and flipping it on its head. Those big, new fractions aren’t as scary when they’re being taught in a cozy space at home.
Not all homeschool areas can be in a sunroom, office, or playroom. They won’t all have a door you can push the stress of the day behind. So how do you create a calm classroom environment that could still end up smack dab in the middle of your dining room table?
Set the scene
Try to pick an area of your house to start and end your day. Bonus if it’s a room with doors or a nook off to the side of a room.
The main thing is to be consistent and keep it central.
Just like experts recommend that adults don’t have an office or keep their phone in their bedroom at night, kids need to be able to “shut off” school.
Even if you only have the kitchen table to work at, stick to it. You can set up a hub in a nearby hutch or drawer where everything gets put away at the end of the school day.
Hygge is comfort, and comfort is your children knowing where things belong so that they can take control of their learning.
Create cozy seating
No good learning ever happens when kids are whining about hard chairs. Knit up some cozy pillows and blankets help create a place kids actually want to settle in for awhile.
Obviously you want to avoid pillow fights or kids falling asleep (although, if my kids fall asleep while reading I figure they must have needed it and we’ll pick back up when they wake up!).
Letting them lean against something soft or throw a blanket over their legs gets my kids excited to sit and read. It’s kind of like the kid version of making popcorn and settling in for a movie or with a book.
Lighting
Fluorescent lights have been linked to more headaches. Using the right light helps set a calm mood and puts less strain on your kids’ eyes. Here are a few examples of lightning to create hygge in the classroom:
- Warm or natural bulbs
- Hanging strands of twinkly fairy lights
- Light candles (peppermint helps promote concentration and stimulate clear thinking)
While you shouldn’t dim the lights too much, adding candles or fairy lights in addition to overhead lights or lamps does a lot for creating calm.
Bring the outdoors in
Is there anything better than a shelf full of deep green houseplants?
Really, the further into “Plant Lady” status I go, the more I wonder how our last house only ever had two, maybe three indoor potted plants!
Obvious health benefits aside, can we just talk about how cool it is to have such pretty and quiet living things in your house? In a chaotic home with three girls, I welcome some quiet serenity.
I find myself sitting in the sunroom watching the leaves rustle when the windows are open or the fan is going. It always clears my head and lightens my mood.
Adding vases of flowers, letting in fresh air, and swapping faux garland for the real thing are great ways to bring hygge in the classroom, too.
Soft music
In a nutshell, instrumental music wakes up your brain. It improves your focus, memory, and mood.
I’m a really big fan of classical twists on popular songs, like The Piano Guys’ version of “Let it Go”. It’s seriously fun!
I also just discovered “The New Lullabies” by Fatherly, a Spotify playlist with remakes of songs like “Under the Bridge” from Red Hot Chili Peppers!
Cozy drinks and comfort snacks
One surefire way to get kids to get cozy and focus is to bring out the snacks.
Nuts, popcorn, and chocolate (especially dark) is healthy enough in my book, and easy to nom while reading or writing in a journal.
Comforting view
Kids need an escape from being in the classroom, even an at home classroom.
Luckily it’s really easy to add some extra comforts to look at during brainstorming sessions.
Two really easy things to add for hygge in the classroom are:
- TV or computer screen fireplace: They’re everywhere. Search YouTube, or if you already have a subscription, Disney+ has an Arendelle yule log from Frozen.
- Pictures of family and friends
Include hygge in the curriculum
One simple way to bring hygge in the classroom and see immediate benefits is by writing it in the lesson plan.
In our house, my kids spend plenty of time knitting, crocheting, sewing, playing piano, baking, gardening, and creating art. Then we run around outside and climb trees and feed the chickens. After that, it’s time for tea and a snack, then clean up for dinner. Find what lights your kids up and do more of that. Childhood is short!
Get those kids learning new homemaking skills and feeling the benefits of working creatively with their hands. Learning to sew, knit, and garden are some of the most common homemaking skills to teach, but try looking outside the stereotype, too. Teach your kids about meal planning and write grocery lists together. You can even think outside of the box and teach how to season cast iron and how to wrap a gift.
Take this opportunity to teach your kids what goes into creating a cozy home. They’ll love the extra time with you and pick up on new skills they don’t usually get in the classroom.
>> 10 Benefits of Teaching Kids to Knit and Our Homeschoolās Favorite Picture Books About Knitting
Start and end the day the same way
I find that opening with the calendar and weather settles my girls in for listening, and a song lets them know it’s time to start getting silly again.
For older kids, start with journal time and end with reading. Journaling and reading are two very calm activities for hygge in the classroom.
Ease into the day slowly and as the teacher, make sure you’re organized. It’s hard to be relaxed when your kids can tell you’re stressed or flying by the seat of your pants.
Take breaks
Get outside, go for a walk! That’s seriously my answer anytime someone is getting crabby in this yellow farmhouse. Overtired baby? Bring her for a walk. Bored big kids? Get your booty outside for a walk.
The schoolwork will still be there when you get back with enough time left in the day to pick back up.
Taking a break, especially one that gets your body moving, can reset your whole way of thinking and refresh your memory. When I was in school, I liked to go for bike rides for a study break. I always came back feeling reinvigorated and ready for part two.
Special days
Kids in public schools have parties and themed days all the time. Get in on that fun!
It doesn’t have to be a big stressful planned out thing.
Some of my favorite ideas to bring extra fun hygge into the classroom on these “just for fun” days are:
- Snow day
- Pajama day
- Spirit week
- Flannel Friday
- Holiday party
- Mental health day
Community
Hygge is all about happiness and connecting.
Bring in a sense of community by having well-behaved siblings work near each other. Join a co-op at a local art studio or do a nature hike with friends.
This was a big one for our family once our new baby came.
It was so important to connect more as a family of six while we figured out our new routine.
Create calm
When we imagine homeschooling, most of our minds head straight for books and supplies.
But beyond curriculum, we need to also decide what we can bring to the classroom to create a comforting and happy place for our kids to be vulnerable and open to learning.
So what about you?
Let me know what your schooling will look like this year! Do you plan on implementing any of these tips to create hygge in your classroom?
