How "Tues"day Tip #1

Tip #1 is something that I'm adding to my classroom for next year!  I think my students will love completing Daily 5 Word Work Activities using a table top dry erase board.  They can write high frequency words, use playdough, and build words with magnetic letters.  I am designing the workspaces for two students at each table.  The great news is that the entire project can be completed at a very low cost (especially if you have odds and ends around your classroom or house).  It's also garage sale season, and teachers can always find some great bargains!

You will need to make a trip to. . .

You'll need 1 sheet of thrifty white panel board

and "kid" sized tables.

These were used for painting, playdough, and all kinds of art projects in the Perry home!  

CVS and Walgreen's have them for fairly reasonable costs.  I got the one below for $9.99 from CVS during a spring sale.

Get one of the handy Home Depot employees to cut the board to fit the dimensions of your table.

After we got the boards for the dry erase tables there was still a lot of board left so we made two huge dry erase boards for the boys!  You can also have them cut individual sized white boards for your class!  The entire board is only about $13.00 so you can get an entire class set of brand new boards for just over $25.00.  Have your students bring in an old towel or sock, and you'll be set for the year!

You'll need some velcro as well.  This is industrial strength, but any kind will do if you position it on the table correctly.  This kind of velcro has adhesive strips so there's no mess!  You don't have to glue or drill at all.  Just make sure you allow at least 24 hours before trying to remove the dry erase top.

Carefully place the velcro in each corner and in the center of the table.  

Before

After

There are several variations of this project so you can adapt it to meet the needs of your students and your space. In addition to the supplies that I mentioned above,  you can also purchase a can of "magnetic" paint so that students can use magnetic letters.  

You can purchase it from Hobby Lobby for $10.99.  It's a fairly large can which can be used for multiple projects.  As always you have the flexibility of removing the dry erase top for messy projects!

Dry Erase/Word Work Table

I hope you've enjoyed tip #1!  I'm very excited about using it in my classroom next year.  I decided on a beach/ocean theme next year, and I think this will look so cute on the "writing/word work" boardwalk!  

Today's my birthday (it's my last year as a "20 something"), and Mr. Perry has been trying to hurry me along all morning long!  I'm heading off to see what he has planned for the day!  I hope you enjoyed this tip!  Stay tuned for more great tips, fabulous finds, and freebies!