Why use paper and crayons when you can draw on windows with markers?
My husband invited us to visit him during a class he’s teaching on the intersection of design and improvisation (oh how I wish I had time to take this class!). He brought N a dry erase marker to keep her occupied. Can you find little sister up there?
He led her to the large sliding doors, and suggested that she could draw on them. Lucky kid!
She loved it…
And rose to the challenge. (Haha. I couldn’t resist!)
A couple days later, just before breakfast, we found N sitting on our dining room table, drawing on the windows. Gasp! It was all good once we replaced the magic marker with a dry erase marker. Thankfully no Sharpies were involved!
Thinking about her next drawing move.
Idea in mind, she was back to the window.
Sitting back to inspect and appreciate the handiwork.
This activity is great for pushing the envelope of material possibilities. All you need are a dry erase marker and a good-sized window. Dry erase markers can stain porous surfaces, so be sure to give clear instructions about where the markers can be used. Windows can be wiped clean with a soft rag or cloth.
For more on white board drawing, visit this related post: Wonderful Whiteboarding.
This post was shared with It’s Playtime, Childhood 101, Art for Little Hands
SOOOOO fun!
it is, and liberating!
Love it! I just saw a paint kit that turns any surface into a dry erase board. Way cool!
I’ve seen those too — whiteboards are almost as hot as chalkboards 🙂 But if you have a window it’ll save you a lot of time and money!
I gave my son a whiteboard marker and he had a blast with it on the sliding-glass door. And then he tried it on the wall. He doesn’t turn two until June, so this was all my fault… we’ve since switched to some washable glass and mirror “crayons” found at the craft store. Now when he gets experimental, I don’t have tiny heart-attacks.
Yep, it’s hard to set limits upon an almost 2-year old! And we learn a lot of hard lessons as parents, don’t we? I’ll have to keep my eye out for those washable crayons as my younger one gets to be a bit older.
What a great idea! I think I will get a shower caddy with suction cups to hold the markers so my daughter knew what markers she could use: only the ones in the caddy.
That’s a great idea. I hadn’t thought about notating the markers, and now that I see how similar they can look to a child I may come up with a new way to designate them too!
Rachelle,
This looks like fun for your daughter!
How great to be able to draw on windows!!!
One of my co-workers has done this with her children using markers for kids to draw on windows. You might look for them, they may have a nice selection of colours. And possibly may have less of the strong smell that some dryerase markers have. (I think they are “non-toxic”).
I enjoyed your egg dying post too! Such good ideas – I like the paperhole reinforcers, and rabbit.
Thanks for dropping by my blog, and leaving a comment today.
Interesting that you have this connection to my home city!
Take care.
Happy Easter!
Brenda 🙂
Thanks, Brenda. We bought a set of dry erase marker in the Kid section of IKEA. They don’t have a strong odor, and they come in pretty colors. I agree with you, the usual dry erase markers smell horrible, and can’t be good for us to use. Happy Easter to you too!
What fun! I’m working it out in my head where/how we can do this here…. i can’t wait!
Have you considered pulling your dining room table up to a window? Kidding 🙂 I hope Henry enjoys it!
My girls enjoy drawing with dry erase markers on our fridge and freezer, simple and fun ::)
Wonderful! I didn’t know you could do that with dry erase markers. I guess it makes total sense. I was buying the window crayons. They are nice for more vibrant colors, but the dry erase would be better for clean up. I love the pictures you took. They are great!
Thanks for sharing at my link party!
What a super idea!
Love your blog by the way! Was so thrilled to find it recently and have added you to my blog roll list on my front page!
Take care,
Georgia
Thanks Georgia — what a nice compliment!
Just an FYI from the lab. Alcohol (in the lab it’s 100% Ethanol, but even rubbing alcohol works) will wipe Sharpie marks off glass surfaces. It may take a little elbow grease, but all is not lost if the kiddos grab a Sharpie on accident. It works better with black and blue than it does with red.