Chart Ideas

Remember when I made this activity board? I was pretty proud of myself. I didn't really research any to buy, I just sort of winged it. And it was a HUGE hit with Jack. It still is. I made a rookie mistake though and hung it way too low. When Finn started walking (or running I should say) he would b-line it right over to the board and take off the pieces and eat them. Needless to say, our activity board started to look a little trashy. I decided to check out the Lakeshore Learning website. I was amazed! They had SO many great ideas and fun charts. So yesterday morning, I had a sudden burst of energy and I bundled the kids up and brought them to the store. I was also looking for a birthday gift for the Blair girls.

I was an Elementary Education major for about a year, and there is still something in me that is very much teacher like. I get giddy when I buy new notebooks and crayons and making charts and lists is a daily occurrence in my house. I have multiple three ring binders full of information - some necessary, some not. Anyway - I found an awesome gift for two preschool aged girls, and I also stumbled across a new fun little calendar/activity board for Jack. And it was only TEN dollars! What do you think?

Jack is definitely a fan. I left our activities from the other chart up too and will probably add more to this.

Also in my last ECFE class, our parent teacher rocked. He raved about activity charts and how kids really love structure and knowing what is going on and happening during the day. So one class period the parents made this:

You hang this black strip on the wall, add some velcro and interchange the squares to your daily routine. I haven't started using this yet because I'm not done cutting out the laminated pieces and putting the velcro on. I also haven't decided if I want to use this as a nighttime chart, or a daily chart. And I don't know where to hang it up. Maybe in Jack's room? It is SUPER easy to make. We used contact paper to laminate, glued the white printed out pictures onto construction paper. The teacher said the you could hang the black strip up and down, but it's good for kids to start learning to read things left to right too.

I will definitely be highlighting this one:

Anyway, just wanted to share with some of you other moms how easy it is to make charts and also how awesome Lakeshore Learning is. Jack did become a little OCD with his charts and changing the day every morning after breakfast, but the kid knows his days and weather!