Since the girls will be virtual learning and homeschooled this year, we wanted to share our vision behind their new learning spaces. Below we are sharing how we chose to decorate them, which items we liked most, and where you can find them too! We hope this helps you if you decided to create a similar space in your home.
Sofia's room
This year, Sofia will be homeschooled, so the idea behind her "learning space" was to make it look familiar. I wanted to create a space for her that resembled what she was used to at school. A small chalkboard, spaces for imaginative play, and a dedicated wall with books and easily accessible cubbies or toys.
In Sofia's learning space I invested a bit more in storage cubes and organizational systems to help keep everything organized for two reasons: the fact that we have a little one always around and the second was to continue what she had learned at school, which was clean up before each activity. Here are a few of my organization go tos:
Organization:
When it came to school supplies I didn't have a list to go off of this year, so I decided to go with the essentials that I found at Target, which I linked below. I will also be supplementing Sofia's homeschool curriculum with a variety of enrichment materials, which came highly recommended by fellow moms.
School Materials:
Enrichment Materials:
Munchin Lane Monthly Personalized Workbook (Use our code Bambina20)
Annemarie's Learning Corner
For those who may not know, I was a middle school teacher for 7 years before I decided to stay at home with the girls. Getting her learning corner ready has brought back so many memories of getting my own classroom ready. Thinking about the space, what works well for my students, making sure it is not too busy so it doesn't distract, but also making it a space that makes students want to learn! So how did we decide virtual school? We decided to keep Annemarie enrolled in her school because they gave us the option of selecting virtual school or in-person. Originally we had chosen to send her, but once the numbers in Florida went up we didn't feel comfortable and made the switch. Luckily enough, her school is letting parents revisit that choice after each semester so at that point if we will re-evaluate.
I decided to transform a little section of the loft into her learning corner. I loved this space because there is a lot of light, the TV was already set up to mirror her virtual classroom and it was far enough from my husband (he is crazy loud when he works lol).
I also didn't want to overcrowd the space since I don't know what the classroom routine is like, once I get the momentum I may move some things around. But about the room ...
My dad actually made the chalk board last year and I thought it would be the perfect fit for the morning routine like "what day it is" etc. The acrylic easel on the other hand was gifted to me by Little Partners and Annemarie loves to paint and use her dry erase markers. Although they don't make the acrylic version anymore, they do have a variety of easels to pick from!
Now in order to keep things organized I am using my trusty BLOP bags (her shop is closed for now but will be opening up soon) and a rolling cart from amazon. It was easy to built and keeps all her supplies organized but handy. I also decided to display some of her school work from last year just to keep her motivated and in the mindset of school. To store all her school work that I want to keep I purchased a vinyl bag from amazon.
I did want to have some educational posters on the wall to reference them when learning so I bought a set from amazon. I didn't display them all because I want to rotate some of them depending on what she is learning. They really do give the space a learning feel.
The last item would be her little table with chairs that of course is from IKEA. I will advise that they are taking a little long to ship pieces and in a recent order of mine they did make a mistake. Regardless, we love IKEA and I totally recommend this set for any little one. It is great for everything under the sun.
Our friend, Bessy from Simply Bessy, made the cutest signs for back to school. She even included a Back to (Virtual) School one. Click the following link to download it: https://photos.app.goo.gl/LSCLLymJtvrc3Lje6
My only advise to parents going into this new venture, is to have grace. Everyone is in new territory and we are all here to help, guide and support one another. This school year is going to be very interesting but put it in the universe that it will be an amazing one! Make it fun, don't stress the little things and just remember that like everything else, it's just a phase.