Bring the Family

Hands-On Back to School Fun

Posted by Toni | Filed under Adventures at Home

Something about September leaves me feeling downright nesty. Perhaps it’s the leap from relatively languid to structured days, or maybe some dormant part of our animal brain awakens, sensing it’s time to make room in the closet for snow boots.

Last year, I spent Labor Day weekend organizing the kids’ art room:

I’d love to report that it looks that pristine a year later. I can say that this weekend will be one of Windex wielding and Lego sorting with the kids. Related: if anyone has any great ideas for how to keep a homework + art table tidy, I’m all ears!

This year, when I found myself able to consistently work each morning with all three boys in school, I spent my back-to-school afternoons prepping and painting a wall in my office. Why just one? Two words: magnetic chalkboard! I’m very visual and I love the idea of brainstorming story ideas on a great big writable surface.

Here’s the wall after four coats of the Rust-Oleum gray “magnetic” primer (which is neither gray nor magnetic; it’s infused with bits of metal, freeing me from worrying about erasing my hard drives or muddling the pet bird’s homing instincts):

If I had to do it all over again, I’d probably have used a standard primer because the metallic primer’s adherent properties aren’t all that great, even after two cans and four coats. The kids and I can play with our Magnetic Poetry stuff and I can enjoy looking at my decorative magnets, but nothing sticks quite strongly enough to hold actual bits of paper or postcards. I read some reviews on amazon.com revealing that other users experienced similar issues, while also learning that sanding between coats of primer may help. Because this wall is plaster and I like the texture, I opted not to sand, and I’m happy enough with the results.

“Rare earth” magnets work well on these surfaces and I might give them a try, but be warned that these are NOT a good choice in households with little kids who might swallow them. (Check out these cutiepies)!

In the “learn from my mistakes” department, I wish I’d done a better job taping off the bottom molding, since every drip and splatter from brushes and rollers meant black specks on high gloss white. I’m going with “I meant to do that” for now.

After the four coats of primer, I applied two coats of Rust-Oleum chalkboard paint, then waited three agonizing days before “conditioning” the wall. You do this by rubbing the entire surface of the board with chalk – something the boys really loved. Then we wiped it down with a dry cloth:

Addition of the chalk means you lose some of that inky black surface, but it also means you can do this:

So far, the boys have used it to write notes to me, practice math problems and spelling words, and draw spikes and meteors. I took the time to write down my top 3 long-term goals so I could look at them all day long and remember to focus on them, and I’m going to write some Mad Libs for them to fill in after school.

The total cost for this project was well under $100, including rollers, paint tray, brush, two cans of primer, and one can of chalkboard paint. The most expensive item by far was the magnetic primer, which retailed at around $19/can. Not bad for something that will yield hours of fun for a good, long time.

Share your thoughts about how the start of autumn and back to school days affect you – are you a nester, a purger, an ostrich, or something else entirely? Got any projects to share, or questions about this one? Let me know in the comments section.

Permalink | Comments (2) | September 11, 2009

2 Responses to “Hands-On Back to School Fun”

1. Jen S Says:
   September 11th, 2009 at 1:25 pm

   But you don’t notice a ton of chalk dust? That’s the only thing holding me back. I hated that dust in school. Only thing that to this day will get me to coughing. And is there a film of chalk dust on the floor below? Where I’d like to do it is in the playroom which has a carpet and wouldn’t be easy to just swiffer or wipe. I love love love the idea and the look. I’ve toyed with a big white board, but then there’s the option of moving those markers around the rest of the room.

2. Toni Says:
   September 11th, 2009 at 1:38 pm

   There is a ton of dust, unfortunately. We have hardwood in this room so clean-up is a snap, but one time when Jack wrote a lot on the board and then erased it I had a coughing fit. We have a mini vac in the art room and I have the kids use it daily if they use the board.

   Check this out: http://www.amazon.com/Nontoxic-Colored-Assorted-Colors-QRT305003/dp/B0013CQ38W

   They do also make dry erase paint, but then you must contend with markers.

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