We are in a whole pandemic! Can you believe it? Parents had no idea that this school year was going to look like this. With how things are, we have no idea when the kids will be returning to school. If given the option, some parents may have their children do virtual learning for the rest of the school year. Do you need to set up a virtual learning space at home now?
Since the kids now have to learn at home, we still wanted them to feel like they were at school. This would have been my youngest daughter’s first year at the “big school” as a kindergartner. She’s missing out on the whole school experience. It actually makes me sad.
So we created a learning space so baby girl’s first day of kindergarten would still be special and so both kids would have somewhere to really focus. This school year is very different, but we can do it and so can you!
Are you looking for ideas on creating a virtual learning space for kids? Here’s what we did and you can even see our virtual learning space tour on our YouTube channel.
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DIY Virtual Learning Space
How do you create a virtual learning space for your child? Don’t we already have enough things to worry about? Ugh. Don’t worry if you don’t even know where to start. Keep it simple or go all out. Do whatever is best for your family and don’t stress it!
Find a Space
First things first, don’t compare your virtual learning space to anybody else’s! Do what works for you and your family. Don’t go getting stressed out because it’s not like the Jones’ around the way. All you need is a spot for your child to do their work in peace and if that’s at your dining room table, that’s ok! Pick a space that is distraction-free or at least has the least amount of distractions possible.
We’ve been doing the remote learning thing for a month now and I know for a fact that having a dedicated learning space helps tremendously. A virtual learning space can be a corner in their room, the living room, kitchen, half of your home office, the spare room, the loft, whatever extra space you have available. Once you figure out the space, you can figure out how you want the virtual learning space to look.
If you don’t have much room, you can create a virtual learning center using a trifold poster from the Dollar Tree or any other dollar store. You can also purchase a privacy screen for students. Just decorate the poster or classroom privacy screen with your child’s schedule and other key information or things the child needs to learn. I’ve been seeing a lot of these lately and I think it’s an awesome idea. Just head on over to our Virtual School Pinterest board to see some ideas by clicking HERE. Also, make sure you follow us on Pinterest for more virtual school ideas and other parenting tips.
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Virtual Learning Space Tour
We used half of our home office to set up a dedicated learning space for the girls. We had to take things out and move things all around, but it was totally worth it for us. Click HERE for a tour or simply watch the video below.
First Day of Virtual School | DIY Home Classroom
Catch a glimpse of Jordyn’s first day of virtual school! She’s in the 4th grade now. Joia starts Kindergarten on Wednesday, however she had to take a Kinderg…
Let Your Child Help
Get your child involved! Make this a fun little DIY home project for both of you. Work together to create the best space that works for your child. Make sure they feel comfortable and focused. Let them go shopping with you to pick out some of the classroom decor or make some yourself. Let them choose their desk and the colors of the virtual school supplies. Ask them where they think their learning space should be.
Let your child help move things around and decorate the home classroom. Get creative! Make their remote learning space personal and special. Ask for their input. Make it a learning space where they want to be and are ready and excited about learning.
Make it Feel Like a Classroom
Once you get your child’s input, make a list of all the virtual school items you need, and go shopping. Our favorite places to get things for our DIY home classroom are Dollar Tree, Michael’s, and Walmart. Dollar Tree has a lot of educational items you can put on display and they are all only a dollar! A lot of the classroom decorations you see on the wall below are from the Dollar Tree.
Michael’s also had a lot of classroom posters and classroom decorations for a decent price. Most of the items we purchased were $5 or less. We made sure to grab educational posters, motivational school posters, classroom borders, and just overall cute classroom decorations that would make the classroom pop!
For school desks, we used an old computer desk we already had and a school desk we bought from Goodwill years ago. Check consignment stores or charity shops for used desks. You can even restore it if it looks a little too used or old. If you don’t want to buy a desk you can build one yourself, see if someone is giving one away, or use something you already have in your home like a small fold-up table. If push comes to shove, just use the dining room table or get a lap desk.
Get Organized
Last but not least, keep your virtual space organized. You want to make sure your child knows where everything is and can keep up with it. There are so many school organizers and storage items you can use to keep your home classroom nice and neat. We used a cube organizer shelf as a cubby where the girls store their laptops, notebooks, pencils, and all of their other virtual school supplies. Dollar tree has so many classroom organization things that I’m sure you’ll find most of what you’re looking for to stay organized. We have caddies, storage baskets, storage bins, plastic file holders, and more. We use them to store dry-erase markers, workbooks, pencils, flashcards, crayons, scissors, paper, and more.
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Have fun setting up your virtual learning space! Hopefully, you are able to make it a space where your kids enjoy learning and stay focused throughout the school year. Have a good virtual school year!
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