That’s brilliant, Jessica!

I learned a new trick from a teacher for an to use with the dry marker. You can hot glue the small pom-pom’s to the lid of dry erase marker, & then kiddo’s can flip it over as they would a pencil to erase!!! A pack of small pom-poms are cheap & an easy way to keep everything together!! Thought this was a GREAT idea….hope it can be useful for others!!!

I suppose if you wiped the drawing with your hand or sleeve, you might consider it “messy” (not that a little mess ever bothers us heehee), but as far as a creative drawing experience goes, it’s not really a messy one. The ink stays on the page as long as you don’t rub it, and even if there is smudging, the benefits of getting creative in a new and fun way, far outweigh the mess factor. It’s much less messy than many other art projects we do.

Crayola makes a washable dry erase marker. I use them in my daycare.

No legal ramifications to worry about here, Gail. If there were, no-one would be able to make their own play-dough, finger-paints, building blocks etc. I have not infringed on any copyright or trademark laws here. No worries. But thanks for looking out for me.

I got some erasable crayons at Lakeshore Learning (you can probably get them online, too) that might also flil the bill. They are more difficult to erase, but the kids can get a little workout that way! : )

Yes, dry erase markers will wash off of skin, Thamara. The ones we have do anyway.

That’s a fantastic idea!

Great idea, Sherry.

Yes! The hooligans are learning to spell their names with ours too! So many great ideas! Love the hangman one! I was just playing that with my son last night! On paper though. lol

Absolutely! Oh! We also made one sheet full of tic-tax-toe lines all over it! We made a space for names and of course for cat! LOL And my niece and I made a hangman sheet! Had letters at the top to mark out and lady the bottom blank for the letter spaces for the words 🙂

That’s fantastic, Angel! I love the idea of colouring pages! This activity has so many possibilities, doesn’t it?

I’m not sure what brand ours are, Janika. We use several brands actually. I’ve not had any problems with them. The “ink” (which is like a fine powder) wipes right off our table top if the kids happen to get any on it.

Oh, isn’t that just brilliant! I feel a new activity coming on!

Baby wash-cloths are a great idea, Kirsten!

Oh, I forgot to mention: we use baby washcloths as erasers. Each child keeps 1 or 2 in a 3-ring pencil case with her dry erase markers, and when they get really stained, we just toss them in the washing machine with a load of laundry! Cuts down on the waste. 🙂

That’s so fantastic, Sandra! I’m just thrilled that you’re trying so many of our ideas with your grandson! What a lucky, little guy to have a Nana as fun and creative as you. Just think of the memories he’ll have of your times together as he gets older! God bless. x

didn’t mean to imply that there was any lack of creative ideas……it’s just a concern that teachers and parents think worksheets have value for young children…..I worry about “mixed messages”. I have looked at the other ideas and share them with my college students and colleagues. Now that our weather is warming, I can’t wait til I can get outside with my grandchildren to try your bubble recipe!!!!

Thank you for your input, Joan. If this were the only “creative” activity we were to do here, I would agree, but the hooligans are given plenty of opportunities, every day,
to explore a wide variety of artistic, craft and sensory materials. We have done literally hundreds of open-ended art projects with natural, man-made and recycled materials over the years. This is just one of many, many creative activities that the children do on any given day in my care. I hope you’ll take some time to look through the hundreds of activities on my site to see some of the truly wonderful ways we explore and create here in my daycare.

Terrific ideas, Brandi! The possibilities are endless!

Awesome ideas Peggy!