During my homeschool nesting period, right before the new year begins, I pull out all of my resources and discover things that I didn't know I had - like two "How to Draw Manga" books. I also pulled out the posters I have collected over the years wondering when I'd ever use them? Then I got an idea. Create some floating walls with panel board!
I first discovered this DIY hack while researching oversized dry erase boards and realized that the cost was way out of my budget. Thrifty, creative homeschool moms on Pinterest came to the rescue. I learned that you can purchase a 4 foot by 8 foot piece of panel board from Home Depot and slice it up to your liking for all under $13 bucks! We'll be using the slice pictured above for writing and grammar. This same exercise on a piece of paper is a chore, but on a white board, it's loads of fun. I don't have the research on why it is so, I just see it happen all the time. It's light and portable and we can work on the table or the floor because it's not affixed to the wall.
We already have a smaller magnetic dry erase board that we use for All About Spelling. But if I need to use it for anything else, I have to remove all the tiles, then return them to the board. That's a drag. Besides, when I leave the board up and Lionheart happens to be sitting at his desk, he practices spelling words when "school" is not in session.
Back to the posters. My sons benefit from visuals when we are introducing new concepts. Since our classroom is in the dining room, there is only so much space. I had literally run out of walls until I decided to use the other pieces of the panel board as
floating walls. If multiplication, geometry and affixes are the topic of the day, I can pull out my posters, clip one at the top and tape another at the bottom. Now right behind Lionheart's desk is a poster wall. Perfect for my visual learner! (The maps are also on a floating wall/panel board and the sofa is on the other side. The dry erase board is visible on the other side so we can use it while sitting on the couch if a creative streak hits).
When the lesson is over, I can easily store the white boards away in the closet. My wall issues and dry erase board shortages have been solved! Now I can rotate my posters and utilize a variety of visuals.
When the boards are put away, I can see the bookshelf again.
And the reversible classroom is now ready for dinner.
You are such an awesome mom and an industrious teacher. Hooray! Hooray! We have the same boards but we keep them big and duck tape the edges to give them a nice border.
ReplyDeleteLove it! Wow. Nice way to make use of your space. We've downsized the learning environment now that my 15 yr is in dual enrolled classes and my 12 yr old prefers to do his work on the floor, on the coach, at the dinning room table (even though he had a portable desk) and stuff. We have a map on the wall and calendar but everything else is his his big notebook.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much ladies. I was so excited I had to share. My youngest son is going to really love it. I plan to do lots of floor work with him so we need portable work materials.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing! I love to slide these behind a couch or shelf - no bulk! Try using duct tape to Tape three pieces together to create a trifold board that stands on its own. Our classical conversations tutors used these.
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