Funding a class set of dry erase boards is not.
Don't get me wrong. If you are going to make an investment into your room, this is a good one. But, there are some alternatives that will save you some dough.
Shower Board: Home Depot and Lowe's both carry large pieces of shower board that work well with dry erase markers. They will even cut them to size for free. Home Depot is really good about making donations to classrooms so try asking the store manager. Even if you do have to buy them it will still only run you about $10.00-$12.00 (bonus tip: The Post Office has change of address packets available with a 10% of your purchase at Lowe's coupon inside. HD gladly honors Lowe's coupons too)
Target: The Dollar Spot currently has 2-sided dry erase boards that I've read good reviews on.
Dollar Store: You can find magnetic dry erase boards at Dollar Tree. They are designed for lockers and dorm doors. While the quality isn't great for this purpose, it does come with a small marker.
Page Protectors: Simply slide an 8.5 x 11" piece of cardboard and a piece of copy paper into a page protector and let the kids write on them with dry erase markers. They clean off pretty well and are low cost to replace.
7 comments:
When I was doing part of my student teaching, I worked with a first grade teacher. She took those really big colored construction paper sheets and laminated them with the really good, hard laminate (think Office Max) and had the kiddos use those with dry erase markers. It was very cost effective (even with the expensive laminate) and the last a LONG time!
Thanks for all the GREAT ideas! I am getting ready to start student teaching (next week!!!) and this is just what I was looking for.
I have done the showerboard in the past, and needed new ones this year. Had heard that Lowe's is no longer doing free cuts. Read somewhere (proteacher???) about using white plastic plates. Got packs of 5 in the clearance section at Walmart. We'll see how long they last with the kids...
I bought 5 of the ones from dollar spot a few weeks ago. I had only a few in my room and I am waiting for Target to put them on clrx before I buy any more. :)
The sheet protector idea for dry erase boards is positively fabulous. I passed it on to some of our Bible class teachers. Thanks for all the wonderful ideas you always have (and that you share with the rest of us!)
Hmmm...lamination is expensive but good for one-on-one "helper worksheets" and such that you want to be able to use with more than one kiddo. For dry-erase class sets I use the thick, plastic, picnic plates in white of course. They are $4 for a stack of 50 and lightweight for little kids (unlike the "real" dry-erase boards). :)
I use those thick, plastic picnic plates in white (or colored for team games and such) and they work pretty great! They are the cheapest solution I've found AND they are light weight for the little kids (unlike the "real" dry-erase slates...which I have and don't use!)
Post a Comment