We present the user-centered iterative design process of a virtual reality (VR) learning application through a playful embodied learning approach. We developed seven room-scale VR mini-games, which we evaluated in a longitudinal study conducted with second-grade children in a primary school setting, focusing on long-term motivation and how children’s behavior in VR changes over time. Over six weeks, twenty children participated in ten VR sessions each, alongside four pre-studies that guided our research. Our findings show our application was highly enjoyable, engaging and comprehensible. Children quickly adapted to VR, some of them getting more confident over time. However, a novelty effect emerged: engagement with the learning content decreased as children became more focused on exploring the virtual environment or testing the boundaries of the VR system. From these findings, we derive key insights for designing embodied learning VR applications, contributing to the growing body of research and highlighting the need for longitudinal studies to evaluate the sustained impact of VR learning beyond the initial excitement.