How to set up a Virtual Workstation for Young Children, That Will Promote Success.

As parents we are facing our most trying time ever. If you weren’t already homeschooling your children, you have been thrusted into a paraprofessional/ IT role, working hand in hand with your school and teacher to get your children educated this year, via computer. I have to say, it wasn’t an easy decision to do virtual schooling. However, we had the resources and job flexibility to make it happen, so it was the best choice for our family.

To make the transition as seamless as possible, I knew I had to provide Chief with a dedicated workspace catered to him, that would make learning fun. We decided to use his playroom desk as his virtual learning hub. The playroom comes with a back story. When we were building, it was supposed to be an additional  bedroom, possibly for another child or a guest room but it is a Jack and Jill type set up and is attached by a bathroom to Chief’s bedroom. The playroom was supposed to be down the hall, across from the master bedroom. Mid-build, I started thinking about the probability of another child and that was low but if we did, it would be better to have a nursery right across from the master, which was slated to be the playroom. I also thought it was a little creepy to have guests sleeping across from my son and them having to share a bathroom with a kid, so we changed the layout. Unfortunately framing and Sheetrock had already gone up and the new playroom had been framed for a closet and what was the new guest room didn’t have one per our request, for more space in a playroom.

Hopefully that explanation wasn’t too complicated but we used forward thinking and made what was supposed to be a closet into a workstation. I’m glad that we made that decision but before school started it really needed some work to get the space ready for learning. I knew that I wanted to add color to the room and I found most of the accessories and decor at the store At Home. Most of the little robot  chotskies were on clearance and were less than $2.

Here are my tips for making a productive virtual learning space for your child.

1. Choose the Location

It’s important to have an area that kids can “report” to everyday, that’s distraction free. It also makes it easy to concentrate, being in a secluded area, where it’s quiet, so they can focus on the teacher.  In school, they have their own desk and/or area and  the same should be provided at home. This allows for all their materials and school supplies to be  ready and available in a central location daily.

2. Organize

We really needed to clean and organize his playroom to accommodate for learning. Previously, he would only color and do arts and crafts there. We purchased a small side table to keep his assignments and materials, as well as desk organizers to house necessary utensils that would be needed throughout the day. I also used some old glass jars I had, to house crayons, markers, paint and additional pencils. Of course I spray painted the tops to match because well, it’s me and love spray paint.  In addition to purging toys, to clean up the entire room, we also purged books, that were below his reading level. You really want to make it a neat and functional work station, so that they are prepared for learning.

3. Add Color and Personalization

The first thing I always notice when walking into classrooms of younger kids, are the bright colors and the genuine effort that teachers make to welcome children on the first day. I wanted to give those same feels at home. I replaced the paintings I had hanging on the wall and added pops of color, his name, pictures and some other fun attributes, like eyeballs on the lamp and bowl for his marbles, it really made him feel like this was his area. Also, I used Command hanging strips for  all of the pieces I hung on the wall, including the robots. They really made displaying the wall art easy and can be purchased here.

4. Keep the Schedule Visible and Have a Clock Handy

Our virtual schedule consists of many breaks and various activities that will be happening during the day. I wanted to make sure that schedule was always handy, so I framed it and made it part of the decor. At the time of this post, I have not received the clock I ordered for his desk but I can’t tell you how important that’s going to be, to make sure the kids are logging in on time and are adhering to the schedule. A clock with an alarm, is probably your best bet, to know when it’s time to return from breaks.

5. Ensure There’s Proper Lighting

I figured since it would be day time we wouldn’t really need additional lighting. However, one day in and I’m realizing that the desk space doesn’t get much light. Fortunately, my basement is being renovated and we’ll have the electrician add a can light over the desk, so hopefully we won’t have to tack on glasses, to the ever mounting kid costs.

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Mamas (and you too random Dad that stops by to read my blog,) we are doing the best we can with the options we’ve been given. I hope you never feel like you’re failing or not doing enough. As long as we put forth the best possible effort we can give to our children, it will always be adequate. We are in this together and we’ll get through this together and when it’s all over, I hope I can send my child to your house for an entire week because someone’s beach has my name on it. Somewhere far away, where the children can’t go. There, that’s where I want to be. THERE.

Happy Virtual Learning guys!