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.)