Well, yesterday was the first day of online learning for Sophia and Cole, and Cecilia getting started today. We have been really trying our best to amp it up, talk about all the positives of online learning and give them that big ol’ we can do anything speech!
Because we can.
We can adapt. We can make changes. We can work hard to make the most of every single situation.
So that is exactly what we are doing with our current one.
I shared our new little “Kindergarten Corner” here. It was a small little space in our home that we transformed into a space just for Cole. So that when he wakes up to go to school in the mornings he has everything he needs to succeed right at his fingertips.
Cole’s space was super cheap because we had virtually everything on hand so we started with his while I tried to plan out in my head what we were going to do for the girls.
My girls are entering 8th and 10th grade this year.
One of them LOVED the idea of having this space down here and the other….well she’s 15.
But, I really feel strongly about setting this space up for my family. I know my kids better then they probably even know themselves, and I’m certain that this space will help them to have a much better online learning experience then they would if they remained up in their rooms all day.
Soo….
3 days before school started, I got to work on giving them that space.
I fell in love with these cabinets that double as desk legs from IKEA. I felt like they were such a great way to keep all of their things organized.
I designated a wall in our living room/home office for this desk to go and was very happy that there was plenty of room to create a nice long desk that would allow them space, even though we are planning to allow them to work side by side.
So we knew we were going to need three of these cabinets to give the long desk plenty of support and also give them that extra drawer space that they would most likely end up needing.
Of course, almost everyone else nearby is prepping for the same situation, so the cabinets and countertops continued to go in and out of stock at all three IKEA’s that we have nearby.
We would find the cabinets available at one store but the countertop I wanted was at a completely different one another 40 minutes away.
We decided last Saturday to just head over to the one with the cabinets and grab them before they were gone and then we would browse around for different countertop options while we were there.
To be honest the overall trip was a bit stressful.
We got there right when it opened so we had no lines to worry about and I was very happy to be able to walk right in, but even with the new guidelines of not being able to operate at full capacity I felt as though the store was quite packed.
So we kind of just zipped through looked at exactly what we felt we needed and then headed to the warehouse to figure out the countertops. I just did a quick online search and checked the availability of the store we were in.
They had the color I was looking for and it was on sale for $50! So I hopped in line, grabbed the paper I needed and then headed for checkout.
While I was in checkout I starting feeling really anxious about the countertop. Because yes it was the color. yes it was on sale. and yes it was in stock but I was certain it was going to be at least a foot and a half too small. but they didn’t have the next size up in stock, so I was thinking we’d just grab it, head home and hope for the best.
Mike hopped out of line to browse the clearance section though and came back with another one of his brilliant ideas. (Don’t tell him I said this… 😉 )
He said there were about 30 unused pieces to a built in refrigerator, about 97″ long, just slightly thinner then the actual countertops, and they were $20! He was sure they would work!
I was really hoping for a white countertop and this only came in black, but it was the right size and even cheaper then I’d planned for so we went for it!
Sophia and I spent about 2 hours that night putting the cabinets together. I sure do have a love/hate relationship with IKEA. They definitely explain it nice, and its super easy to follow the directions but there are SO. MANY. PIECES!!!
I really want this space to have a fun accent wall, but I just haven’t figured out exactly what I want that to be yet so I just kept the wall the same for now and we went to work giving them a space I hoped they would love.
We ran to Home Goods to wrap things up and left with this big dry erase calendar, two fabric cork boards, and the cutest Rae Dunn clock that I just couldn’t resist. 🙂
And voila…
Because we were pressed for time, I didn’t do everything I wanted to yet for this space, I’m sure there will be many fun updates to come! But, for now, they have a cute little space for them to set up and conquer this virtual learning thing!
Are your kids back to school in person? virtual? hybrid? I’d love to hear what you are all doing to make this really strange school year a fun one!
I would also love some feedback on an accent wall?!! What do you think might be a fun “office/homeschool” accent wall that wouldn’t be too busy but would give it that fun pop it needs!
Because we shopped clearance and Home Goods for most of this project I don’t have many links to share, but this is the Alex Drawer unit from IKEA we used as the desk legs. LOVE them!! Make sure you check availability at your store before heading over!
