My New Classroom Easel

During a recent trip to NYC, we took Z-man to The Children's Museum of Manhattan. Among their four awesome floors and various rooms to explore is an art area. They have what is basically a light box on the wall with a drip container underneath. Then there are shower squeegees and spray bottles for museum-goers to wipe away their masterpieces after painting. I felt inspired. I found some plexiglass left over from some project my dad started years ago, bought a $17 window planter from Home Depot and a $3 squeegee from IKEA, and created this.

My students love this. They stand in line to take turns. I'm not sure whether they enjoy painting the board or wiping it away more. I love that I don't have dozens of pages with drippy paint drying around the classroom. I love the way they manipulate the spray bottle and test which distance from the plexiglass works best for optimal erasing. I love how the paint slides down like rain once its been sprayed. I just love this.

(I DO NOT love cleaning it. The planter is not as easy to clean as I wish it was. The drain in the planter is not where the watery paint collects when it is hung like I have it. A drill and a new stopper could fix that, I think.)

Snow day. Sick day.

I got so much grief for not taking Z-man out to play in the first snow of his life.  Or the second.  Or the third. It is so much work to put on all that gear. Boots never go on quite right. Sweat is pouring down your face by the time you are all suited up.  And as soon as you get out, you are wet and cold and want to come back in. Uhhh.
I finally took my guy out and minus the wrestle with his boots, he loved it. And I loved it.  We played with dump trucks in the snow, sledded down our front yard, and ate icicles to our hearts` content. (Gross,  I know.)
I was actually quite bummed when the next snow, a perfect,  fluffy snow,  came while Z-man had strep throat. House-bound.  Sick. Grumpy.  That's a long day to stay inside.  Then my sister suggested I bring the snow inside.  Genius.  A tub full of snow, some utencils, Tupperware,  and a pot and we "cook"ed the day away. At the end, we turned on the hot water and tried to melt all the chunks with the shower house. Not as fun as sledding, but it was a pretty good substitute!