When mom Kim Gatdula-Prado heard the news that Kidzania and Fun Ranch had closed because of the pandemic, she felt really sad that her 2-year-old son, Jaime, would not be able to have the same experience as his older brother and sisters. “[My] kids grew up playing there and I really felt bad because he won’t get to experience these things. I remember we postponed bringing him to these places until he was three because sieympre he won’t enjoy pa naman,” the mom tells SmartParenting.com.ph.
That’s when she got the idea — she’ll just bring Kidzania to Jaime! Since they had an unused bedroom at home, the mom of four decided to upgrade it into a fun, homeschooling space for her toddler. Luckily, she had extra time on her hands as she was working from home during the lockdown.
Homeschooling room ideas
The bedroom has two bunk beds where their kids slept. Prior to the makeover, Kim had to think of a design upgrade where she could utilize the existing furniture.PHOTO BY COURTESY OF KIM GATDULA-PRADOADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOWKim shares that the unused bedroom used to belong to Jaime and her three stepchildren, Isabelle, 21; Joaquin, 18; and Sofia, 15. But now, they all prefer staying in the master’s bedroom with Kim and her husband, JV.
Eventually, the bedroom became a “tambakan.” Kim adds that the room secretly stressed her out — since all of their clothes, shoes, and things were inside, it was kept locked when not in use. “I was in denial that it exists,” she shares with a laugh. But it all changed when she started her quarantine project.
So, why did Kim choose a fire station as the bedroom theme? “Jaime’s first words were mom, dad, and fire truck,” she says with a smile.
With the help of JV, her eldest child, Isabelle, as well as their household help, Kim got to work on the makeover.
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Take a look at how Kim transformed this bedroom into a homeschooling room!
Walls
Kim shares that the wallpaper only cost P40 per panel! “Hindi lahat ng mahal, mukhang mahal. And not all cheap [stuff] looks cheap,” she shares.PHOTO BY COURTESY OF KIM GATDULA-PRADOCONTINUE READING BELOWwatch nowKim had to plan how to do the renovation with minimal carpentry because she didn’t want to risk her family’s health by bringing people inside the home. She also had to order most of the furniture, décor, and accessories online. “I wasn’t Lazada- or Shopee-savvy pre-pandemic, but we have to learn new skills,” she says, adding that she scoured the two online shopping stores for everything related to fire trucks.
Since Jaime is asthmatic, Kim didn’t want to repaint the walls. She settled for wallpaper stickers and duct tape bought from Lazada. “It just took us five days to create this,” she shares.
They also covered the cabinets with printouts of firemen costumes and bags. The storage boxes were covered with duct tape to match the theme. On the left side, Kim bought a map from Lazada to cover the top bunk, which they still used as extra storage.
Carpet
Kim’s biggest expense were the carpets in the room, which totaled P20,000.PHOTO BY COURTESY OF KIM GATDULA-PRADOADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOWAdmittedly, Kim spent quite a sum on the carpets. “But I wanted something that’s very sturdy and washable by a washing machine,” she says.
Furniture
Kim invested in a kiddie-sized desk and chair and a trolley for Jaime’s homeschooling needs.PHOTO BY KIM GATDULA-PRADOMost of the furniture in the room were Jaime’s old stuff which were bought before the pandemic, including his toy kitchen. However, Kim knew he needed a desk and chair for study time, so she bought one from Incy Rooms.
She also loves this art trolley, which she bought from Locaupin Philippines in Lazada. “Moms would super love this. Ang ganda niya,” she shares.
Kim put Jaime's toys on display so he can independently choose what he wants to play with.PHOTO BY COURTESY OF KIM GATDULA-PRADOADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOWKim shares that she really enjoyed putting the room together, including shopping online and waiting for the items to arrive. She also made sure that she did bulk of the renovation, since she considers it her gift to Jaime. “I wanted to show Jaime when he’s older that we did it for him,” she says.
A room that will grow with your child
Kim bought real switches and lights from online shopping sites. Since she was aiming for a Kidzania-vibe, she wanted the fire station to look more realistic than cartoony.PHOTO BY COURTESY OF KIM GATDULA-PRADOKim, who pursued a Master’s degree for early childhood education before becoming a managing director of their own real estate company, says she is really planning to homeschool Jaime in the future. In a way, the pandemic was a blessing since she was able to jumpstart her plans and create a space where he can learn and play.
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW“I don’t want anything so structured because nawawala ‘yung joy in learning. So what I usually do here, kunwari he’s washing, that’s when we learn how to count. When he’s playing with his dinosaurs, he learns how to talk,” she shares.
Kim also designed the homeschooling room to evolve with Jaime, which is why she chose wallpaper stickers — it’s easy to remove and replace with a new theme that her son is interested in.
“I want everything to be removable — you know this one can turn into a forest next time. That’s why I saved the top bunk bed (covered with a map) kasi ang dream ko naman is I’d be able to recreate a treetop, like a tree house,” Kim shares. “It’s exciting — if he gives us something that he’d like to do, then we can create something for him.”
Apart from the homeschooling room, Jaime also has a playroom. Kim even turned their balcony into a mini-garden where her son can enjoy the “outdoors” and take care of his plants.
“I know there are a lot of things that he’s missing out on the outside world, so even if our space is not that big, I wanted to make sure that all spaces were used. That’s really what inspired me to do this — to recreate the world that he’s missing out on and put it here in this space,” she says.
Want to share your home makeover? Email us at smartparentingsubmissions@gmail.com and tell us about your project. For more home improvement and renovation ideas, click here.
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