A new white board

When I think of a typical school room, I think of a big white board. How big of a white board do I really need for a homeschool classroom? Well, recently a dear friend of mine gifted me with a white board. It is a decent size white board, maybe 3 feet by 2 feet? It quickly filled up and is now our family message board in the upstairs hallway. So my hubby took me to Lowe's where we found a humongous white board. No joke, it is 8 feet by 4 feet. Hmmm... I think this will do just fine :) It is also known as flat tile board and runs around $10 for an 8'x4' piece. If you don't have a wall big enough for an 8' long whiteboard, the helpful employees at Lowe's can cut it for you! Just think, you could make whiteboard table tops for your class! 

Ok, so here is how we installed our whiteboard:

We purchased an 8'x4' piece of plywood (this was about $15) and applied a layer of liquid nails. The plywood is to keep the whiteboard from warping or curving. If your wall isn't 100% flat and square, your whiteboard will show it. 

 

Next we carefully lined up the white board on top and gently pushed it on. Next we flipped the whiteboard/plywood over and put some heavy objects on it to weigh it down so the whiteboard would adhere to the plywood.

 

We put the whiteboard facing down so that we wouldn't scratch the surface....I guess we also could have put a blanket on it....buuuut we didn't think of that at the time. 

Once the whiteboard and plywood were one piece. We held up our board against our wall so we could see how it would look. We also marked out the studs where we were going to be screwing into. NOTE: This is heavy and I would recommend screwing it into studs in your wall. 

(I apologize for the horrible lighting)

Next my hubby pre-drilled some holes, always a good idea. He held the board up to the wall in the right spot and I screwed it in. It honestly was that simple.

My hubby started adding some trim around the board to cover the screw holes. But here it is so far! And yes, it really works! Even the red EXPO dry erase marker comes off easily. Who knew that a huge whiteboard could be so cheap?! I just love projects like this. 

With Love,

Becca

Summer Freebies!

Keep those kids active this summer! Turn off the television and give the kids some good old fashioned fun at the bowling lanes! 

FREE BOWLING FOR KIDS

ALL SUMMER LONG!

At AMF, kids 15 and under can bowl for free all summer. Simply register at http://amf.com/home and you'll get a weekly voucher for two free games per child per day through September 3. Shoe rental is not included.

Summer is Here! ....But my mind is still on school

Today was my son's last day of school. Actually the last day of public school for him. Next year we are homeschooling. This will be an adventure for us. I think we will be successful and let me tell you why:
*I've always supplemented my son's school curriculum with projects and educational activities at home
*My son has the highest grades in his class
*I love to read and love to learn, which I hope to pass this on to my kids
*We're always doing science
*I love arts and crafts
*I love organization and structure
*More than anyone, I love my children, and I want them to be the best they can be and to succeed

I also have some reason's for feeling justified in pulling my kid from the public school system. We have already encountered bullying this year, twice. My son handled it very well and I am proud of him. But it made an impact on me. Kinda woke me up a little. I do feel really lucky that my son had amazing teachers in public school. I know it isn't always that way, but truly these women gave it there all and you could tell their heart was in it. But I can only imagine how hard it is to teach 32 children at once. One teacher vs 32 kids. Not only that, their budgets keep getting cut. In California, kids only have to go to school 175 days out of the year. That's about 35 weeks. In other states it's about 40. Hmmm... That is quite a difference. I do have some personal reasons for being out of the public school system as well, but they are personal and I believe that everything I've stated is enough.

So to make a long story short, we are entering the wonderful and absolutely crazy and overwhelming world of homeschooling :) And I'm SOOOOOO excited to plan my classroom! I can't even tell you how excited I am. I have ideas popping out of my brain all day long. If you don't homeschool, it's ok, who's to say that you can't incorporate some of these ideas into regular family life? There are some pretty cool idea coming up... like how to get a 8'x4' white board for under $30... that's right, budget friendly too :)

With Love,
Becca