I can hardly believe that my youngest boy is in Preschool now. I think that makes me an official, like really official, mom. Right?! With all the madness that comes along with school, I really wanted to create a cute little space for us to practice everything that he is learning while at school. We already work on the basics at home, but I wanted it to seem fun to him- so I created this little activity board using Jen Hadfield {of Tatertots and Jello} products, and I love it!
Supplies:
- Plywood cut to the size you would like
- Jen Hadfiled’s scrapbook paper
- Jen Hadfiled’s gold metal clips
- Jen Hadfiled’s chipboard letter stickers
- Jen Hadfiled’s craft paper bags
- Jen Hadfiled’s hanging chalkboard
- Wood glue
Step 1- I started by cutting scrapbook paper in to squares to be used for the flash cards. I broke up the learning center in to Four categories. Capital letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and shapes. I used different scrapbook paper for each category to keep it fun and interesting for my boy. Once they were all cut and written on I put them in to their individual craft paper bags.
Step 2- I labeled each bag with the Chipboard letter stickers. My little guy even got to help me do this {which was fun for him, and stressful for me- who else wants it to be perfect but has to let that thought go when letting kids help?!} Once the bags were labeled and filled, I simply attached the gold metal clips to the tops and glued them to the Plywood.
Step 3- I wrote {in my not so beautiful handwriting} out what the board was for, and made it look school like by adding the paper lines! Now for those of you who have beautiful writing- go crazy with this. Do something extraordinary! For those of you that are like me, and struggle with it- keep it simple:):) The only time my handwriting looks good is when I use a projector with it and a wood burning pen {like we did with our DIY Driftwood Wall Art}. Once all the writing was finished, I added a metal clip to the top of the rope and glued that to the Plywood as well.
Step 4- Once everything is nice and secure, hang the board to your wall however you would like! I initially hung this a little too high, to where my little guy couldn’t reach it. I thought that would be good because I could keep it all in order, but I think I will end up lowering it so that he can have fun with his learning center, or maybe even move it to his room! Anything to have him think learning is fun!!
What do you do at home to help encourage your kids to keep learning? Any tips from seasoned school parents?? I am open to any suggestions!!!
