10 Ways to Use a Dry Erase Board

Dear Reader,

A few weeks ago I received an email from the guys over at Idea Fuel commenting that they had seen my Pinterest Board about Chalkboards and Dry Erase Boards and that they wondered if I would be interested in checking out one of their products they were using Kickstarter to raise funds to take the idea to market.

Truth be told, I get a lot of these kinds of emails and rarely do they really fit the blog or do I have the time to give the products the attention that the person contacting me is hoping for (read: I don’t like to do things my heart isn’t into).

But, this email was different. First, they did their homework and knew I would genuinely enjoy a different kind of Dry Erase Board based off of the fact that I made a Pinterest board dedicated to them (You should sooo check it out— it is nifty cool). And secondly, I was intrigued professionally– as a trainer/facilitator. I really saw their product as a solution to spending tons of money on Flip Chart Paper, since each of their boards include 3 dry erase boards AND 3 overlay transparent sheets.

So they sent me their Artist… and I got down to business.

And, truth be told, I thought business was the main way I would use it… and at first I was right.

But then, my creativity took over and I am pretty sure I will be using this as much as a mom as I will as a facilitator.

So here are my 10 Ways to Use a Dry Erase Board:

1. Brainstorming

Whether it is business or personal, I am a huge proponent of brainstorming.

Just ask Puddie… I go through TONS of flipchart paper both professionally and personally…

You can brainstorm everything from work projects to DIY home improvement projects to possible recipes for a big round of Freezer Cooking.

2. To Do Lists

I have always used my dry erase boards to make to do lists…

Especially when two or more people are working on a project (or even a huge Spring Cleaning Spree ;)).

There is something empowering about everyone having a marker (and a say) when there is a big job to be done.

3. Planning & Assessment

The saying goes that “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail” and that can be so true.

Folks, I know there are some bad facilitators out there and most of us have suffered through at least one of “those” sessions.

But it doesn’t have to be that way… it can be fun. And, planning and assessment can be helpful even on your own.

Besides, it never killed anyone to take a moment to sit down and figure out what your strengths and weaknesses are in the situation and where your opportunities lie and what– if neglected –might threaten your success.

4. Family Menu/Schedule

One of the questions I get asked daily is “What are we having”…  When I am on my “A” game, I have the menu written out for all to see.

Note: I really LOVE the Artist’s transparent overlays for this purpose. I can write the grid on the whiteboard once and use the overlay to write (and erase) meals each week.

5. Letter Tracing

Speaking of those overlays, they got my creative juices flowing…

I immediately thought of ways to use it to help Miss Add learn. So I made dotted lines of letters on the whiteboard and flipped the transparency over and had her to practice tracing letters.

6. Tracing Cartoons

Then I got to thinking of how fun it would be to trace some of her favorite characters.

Truth be told, Mommy wanted to play first…

So I popped a coloring sheet in between the dry erase board and transparency sheet and had at it.

7. Chore Charts

I traced Ariel right onto Miss Add’s chore chart for the evening…

The prize for completing her chores?

8. Coloring and Drawing

Getting to play with “Mommy’s Markers” and color in the drawing… and do a little creative drawing of her own.

9. Math

If you ask Miss Add about Kindergarten in the fall, she will tell you she is most excited about math. Preschool did not really cover it and she craves it (DNA testing needs to be done).

So, Miss Add was thrilled when I decided to throw some numbers on the board and let her work her math whiz magic 😉

10. Games

We have played everything from scavenger hunt to mystery clues to spelling bees and tic tac toe…

Forget fancy shamancy board games, we will be making our own this summer!

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Well I am sure I could come up with at least 10 more uses, but you get the point.

So get out those dry erase boards and grab a colorful bunch of markers and get to having fun!

And, if you want to get a nifty board like the one we are using like crazy these days, head over to their Idea Fuel’s Kickstarter page and check out the right hand column.

For just $25, you can get their Mini version that has 10 pages and can fit in your laptop bag or for $70 you can get the one I have AND a Mini… all while supporting a small business that is trying to get off the ground.

Disclosure: I received a free Artist dry erase board for my honest review in this post. My addiction to planning techniques is all my own… and something Puddie would never try to change about me no matter how much I drive him crazy with it– Right, Pud? This post also includes Amazon affiliate links because yo, I love me some Amazon 😉

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Updated 9/6/2012 The guys over at Idea Fuel would like me to share their new site location for their white boards: www.whiteboardreinvented.com