zenjenn Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 (edited) We have a LARGE blank wall in our school room/dining room, and I am looking to fill it with educational materials! One thing I know for sure I want included - two large, clear, easy-to-read political maps - one of the world and one of the United States. I would like them to be rolled maps so they don't have creases, and if they are laminated or printed on something that can be used with dry-erase markers, all the better. Also an option perhaps - if they come in a cheap frame so I can use dry-erase markers on the glass, but the framed large maps I have found so far cost a fortune. I am also open to recommendations for anything else that would be appropriate for this HUGE wall. Ages are 1st and 3rd grade, so we're probably too young for something like the periodic table. I am putting up the cursive alphabet, and I will probably include a Hebrew alphabet chart (we are Jewish and study Hebrew). What else? I want information that is USEFUL to have access to visually on a daily basis, not just fluff or posters encouraging you to read like they have in classrooms. All recommendations appreciated, especially with links! :) Edited June 17, 2011 by zenjenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 I bought inexpensive ones on Amazon, but then I bought a more heavily laminated one for my son because he wanted to use it a lot on the floor and because he wanted to draw on it a lot with wet erase markers. I bought the better one from here: http://www.mapcenter.com They have all sorts of sizes and styles to choose from. The shipping was great in that the map was well-treated. I cannot vouch for the same treatment from Amazon. :glare: The cheaper Amazon ones were: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0762521236/ref=wms_ohs_product_T2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenjenn Posted June 17, 2011 Author Share Posted June 17, 2011 Oh, be still my beating heart. Peel and stick dry erase wall maps. PERFECT! THANK You for the link! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 What an opportunity! Have you thought about some kind of system that you can (relatively) easily swap out? That would let you change things as you go, and your topics (and kids) change. Even just a large bulletin board (or large piece of poster board covered with material and hung on the wall. You might be able to frame the maps yourself if you wanted to. Some molding or trim cut at an angle and a large piece of cardboard for backing. Although, the PP's comment about using them on the floor might make that not as desirable... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenjenn Posted June 17, 2011 Author Share Posted June 17, 2011 I do have a really handy laminated placemat-size map that we bring out when we want to look at something, as well as a large folding map. I liked the idea of something that could be on the wall and stay on the wall and out of the way, yet still be marked regarding areas of currently-relevant studies. I definitely want to switch things out based on what they are studying. Obviously the cursive alphabet doesn't need to be up there forever, but it's probably good for a few years considering my youngest (a nice reference, even once we are not actively studying cursive). So for the fall maybe a map about the ancient world would be appropriate, and maybe a few things that are not super useful but would be interesting to the kids (like a solar system chart). This wall really is a great opportunity. It has been blank and I've avoided using it because our school room is also our dining room and I had in the back of my head I was going to but some elegant artwork or something there, but after 2 years of this I have come to really embrace that this is our life, and it would be foolish to waste that space just so the dining room looks elegant the handful of times a year I actually use that room to "dine", whereas we school in that room at least 5 days a week! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenjenn Posted June 17, 2011 Author Share Posted June 17, 2011 Oh on that note, I just found this.. set of 5 for $20 (we are starting SotW Volume 1 in the fall!) http://catalog.instructionalimages.com/ancient_civilizations-p-999916.html?osCsid=sppsfdplimof9ebd0sboui5ge5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondeviolin Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 We have these from Rainbow Resource. They are hanging in our dining room. You can see a picture of them fully here, but they show up on our school blog quite frequently. Feel free to sort through some of my other posts to see how we utilize them. They are laminated and do take dry erase just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satori Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 I just posted this educational posters website a few days ago on a simiilar post. If I had smooth walls and a large space, I'd for sure get one of these world map murals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 This may not be quite what you're looking for but I bought these for our school room. They are heavily laminated and I use both dry and wet erase markers on them all the time. My kids love them and they are huge. Mine didn't come on the backboard like they state in the listing, but I had a spare one from some old school maps and dh helped me swap them out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAS in LA Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 Maybe you could also put up a timeline? Homeschool in the Woods has nice timeline figures in book and wall sizes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 Borders has rolled maps and you can use their coupons. I got an unlaminated map of the world for less than $4.00 using my 40% off coupon. I saw rolled maps at Barnes and Noble too, but they don't issue such large coupons. Have you thought of making posters instead of lapbooks? You could just paste all the lapbook materials onto posterboard. I also saw circles of peel and stick chalkboard at Borders in different colors. I liked the hot pink ones :-) I couldn't afford them though :-0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrdinaryTime Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 I think maps in the dining room rock. We have a large US political map in our dining room and it spurs all kinds of interesting discussions at meal times among children, adults, and guests! I bought ours at Lakeshore Learning for $25. It is laminated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mimm Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 I bought these ones. They are bigger than I expected and I love the colors. I think they're beautiful. They are laminated so my kids draw on them with wipe off markers (marking places they want to go, etc.) I plan to have us marking up places as we study them next year. They are from National Geographic and are quite detailed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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