Do you regularly use a whiteboard?

[MunRoLy]

I remember hearing a while ago, I think on the IEW DVD, that you are really making a big mistake if you don't use a whiteboard to teach.

 

Has using a whiteboard made a big impact on your homeschool? Is there something else I'm not thinking of that would have the same benefits?

 

We homeschool in the dining room and there are no blank walls.... Only windows and built- ins so no place to hang one, but lately I've been thinking how helpful it would be to have one and wondering if I should get an easle.

 

I'd love to hear how a whiteboard has helped you, or not.

[Mandylubug]

Yes, I have a large one in our dining room and use it daily. I also use a smaller one for AAR and AAS lessons.

[Mandylubug]

Also, forgot to mention I use our large one for the lesson part and working out the lesson examples. I leave those examples, etc. on the board so that they can check back with those and work independently later. I also use it for dictation and copy work, etc. I also write down the subjects for the day and checked when completed.

[Mama2Many4]

Yes, I teach regularly using my whiteboard. I also don't have any blank wall, but I hung some 3M Command hooks on my door and hung it there. You could always hang a board on hooks that way and take it down when school is finished. I use my whiteboard especially when teaching history, science, math, language arts, and art. It's helped immensely by not wasting tons of scrap paper to make a point. I also use the computer to teach.

[Joshin]

We use personal size white boards, mainly for math. They are about 11x17 in size and slide onto our bookcase when not in use. Each kid has one and so do I. We use them flat on the table. I might lean one against the wall if I am showing something to both boys, but with a five year spread in ages they are rarely working on the same thing.

 

 

One option I have considered is painting the closet door in our homeschool room with whtieboard paint. The doors in our house are already white, so it probably wouldn't be too obvious, just more glossy. The only thing stopping me is I'm worried about the marker getting spread onto the wall around the door.

[ByGrace3]

We have a big one we mostly use for AAS/ AAR but we have a small one we use all the time.

[PollyOR]

I'm only teaching one child right now which makes a difference. I have a large white board for AAS which I stash behind my bedroom door. For individual lessons in subjects other than spelling I use a small chalkboard. The chalk dust is a bit messy but I don't like the fumes from the dry erase markers.

[Alte Veste Academy]

DH installed a 4x8 whiteboard on our HS room wall and we use it all the time. I find Pudewa's recommendation to go big spot on, especially for my boys. It is in constant use, handy for all subjects, and popular with friends who come play. It has virtually revolutionized our writing workshop and provides a great means of full-body math lessons for some very wiggly boys. An all-around winner here.

 

Also, each of my kids has a 2x3 board of their own (although these are most often put to use as signage for their various pretend businesses :lol:). I mostly use my own 2x3 whiteboard for conversational Spanish, every day writing down something new, which they all copy into their Spanish notebooks/cards.

[ItoLina]

Yes! I have 2 large wall mounted ones and 2 small ones we can hold in our laps. I am big on not waiting paper, so I like the lap ones for writing out things that we don't need to keep. One of the big ones I use for AAS. The other one I use for a variety of things. Somedays I put our schedule there. Some days I write copy work on the board, or the date, or demonstrate a math problem....pretty much anything you can think of.

[lexi]

I use whiteboards for everything! But I use the smaller size, personal whiteboards. We put one on our table and I use it to teach. My kids each have their own whiteboard that they use for handwriting practice or math practice. Theirs have handwriting lines on one side and are blank on the other. I love them! We do have a giant one on the wall but I don't use it as much.

[MunRoLy]

Ok, I'm convinced! I'm going to try to post pics of my dining room because I need help trying to make this work!

 

Taking pics... Can I post pics straight from my phone?

[gingersmom]

I have been using one since we began homeschooling.

 

http://www.lakeshorelearning.com/product/productDet.jsp?productItemID=1%2C689%2C949%2C371%2C895%2C584&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474395181113&bmUID=1368809230174

[J9Mommy]

I'm also a whiteboard addict. LOL. I even have a black board that I use neon markers with. It makes the lessons more exciting :)

[Mom2TheTeam]

We use them a LOT. I use the personal size also and keep them put away when they aren't in use. My oldest wouldn't have learned to read without it. Everything is more fun on the whiteboard! I use it for math a ton too.

 

Also, I allow my younger children to color on them during school time. They LOVE it and feel included. My oldest will sometimes color on it while I read to him. It really helps for him to have his hands busy.

 

Eventually, I do plan to get a big one, but since it is just him and we use our kitchen right now, the personal sized are great for us. :)

 

The personal sized ones are cheap at Wal-Mart....like $3 for the smallest and maybe $7 or so for the slightly bigger one. I have mostly the smallest and one of the slightly larger 11"x17".

 

(Not sure I agree with the making a big mistake if you don't use one though. They are convenient, but I'm sure there are other ways to achieve the same goals....like regular paper...seems an odd thing to say would be a mistake, but maybe I'm missing something.)

[Chelli]

I also school in my dining room and I have a large whiteboard (2' x 3') that I set on an easel to teach from. I slide it under the couch or beside a bookcase when not in use. The easel also folds up and is stored against a wall. I use the large whiteboard for everything, science, vocabulary, math, phonics, writing, grammar, spelling, geography, etc.

 

Each of my kids also has individual whiteboards 11" x 12" or about that. They use them for spelling and math mostly.

[Lara in Colo]

I have a huge whiteboard and I use it daily.

I have the top of the board sectioned off into categories (I use wet erase markers so the lines are semi perm) and I post their subject assignments daily (with dry erase) --they can see what they have to do in all subjects before they can quit for the day.

 

They rest of the board is for daily work (examples, lessons etc...) At night they write messages to their dad (who works late and leaves early).

 

I actually have mine on the wall so that is very tall (6ft).

 

I have it set up so that it covers half my window. This does not bother me in the least.

[AK_Mom4]

Every single day for Math. I have a smallish 3x4 board stuck on the dining room wall and it really helps to simplify complicated math problems to see it written out big on the board.

 

Actually, DS17 has used it every day this year as well for public school physics. Laying out forces and diagrams in different colors has been the ticket to helping him keep the math straight.

 

And because it is in our main kitchen/dining room, the whiteboard is also handy for writing down phone messages and leaving notes for family members.

[T'smom]

We use several small ones every day, but I don't have a big one.

[nomadgirl]

We have a large one we use daily, on an easel. It cuts down on paper waste too.

[AimeeM]

We have a huge one in our hallway.

The kids love doing their work on there (generally math for my eldest and phonics/writing for my middle).

[Guest]

We have a small one that we use daily. I have heard Pudewa say that and it always makes me feel guilty. I do use my windows, though, also. Once we really get into IEW more, I may re-evaluate. I'd love to see your pics and hear others' ideas. I have a friend and her husband is going to make her a rolling one. I am contemplating that and want to see her's finished.

[...................]

Nope. Mine just sits there. It's huge and we never use it.

 

Ok...not never---when we do use it I'm so glad to have it. But honestly a mini white board would have been fine. Or a white board stashed behind a dresser or cabinet.

[MunRoLy]

Maybe I'll start with some smaller ones since I don't have room for a big one. Thanks for all the replies!

[Targhee]

we use two sizes. we actually have five white boards (2 large, 3 individual sized). I use the large ones for spelling (sequential spelling and all about spelling), monthly calendar, and I put one horizontally on the table to use for math activities ala Education Unboxed. We use the indiviual ones for dictation, math problems, diagramming ideas (or sentences), drawing pictures, and whatever you might use scratch paper for.

[PachiSusan]

It is hugely helpful for math and we use a small one. I want to get a larger one but we have no wall space for one.

[Mom in High Heels]

I have been using one since we began homeschooling.

 

http://www.lakeshore...D=1368809230174

 

 

I LOVE THAT!!!!

 

 

I'm also a whiteboard addict. LOL. I even have a black board that I use neon markers with. It makes the lessons more exciting :)

 

 

Oh, I want a black one! That would make things exciting!

 

 

I use a white board every day. I have a 3x4, 2x3 and 2.5x1.5 hanging on the walls. On the small one, I will sometimes list things that we will need for many days (or weeks). We do math, Latin examples and Greek examples on the other two. I've found them especially helpful for Latin and Greek, as I can write the sentences out, translate the words literally in order and then write the complete sentence in proper English below it. I can't imagine not using a white board.

 

Provided you're not getting direct sunlight and won't blind yourself, you can always write on your windows.

[momtoamiracle]

I have small ones that I use daily. I couldn't do without it.

 

 

I'd love a large blackboard.

[Juliegmom]

Yep! My daughter loves it! I also wondered if this was a necessary expense and questioned how much we would use it. We use it for lots of thing...working out math problems, outlining science, history and literature as well as announcing fun things like 100th day of school and so much more! I don't have a wall for it so it rests on the couch during our school day and can be easily tucked away at the end of the day. I wouldn't hesitate to get one. There's so many ways to enjoy it and incorporate it into your school day. Kids love them, too!

[Ecclecticmum]

Unless you have an actual applied-know-you-will-do-it plan, don't buy what I did. lol. No matter how cheap/sale it was.

 

I have one of those huge flip whiteboards on wheels. Most of the purpose it serves is divinding things. I previously used it to divide the kitchen from the rest of the open plan area. Now its diving space in the atelier....making the atelier even smaller, because along with the wheels, it has great honking legs that stick out, thus the closest it sits to the wall is 2-3ft away.

 

If I did it all over again, I would just purchase paint with that money and paint the atelier, then slap down one of those stick on blackboards onto the wall....chalk doesn't dry out if the kids leave the lid off it.

[boscopup]

I use mine all the time. I have a nice big one for the wall (though it's not hung up yet - just leaning against the wall right now), and I use it daily. We do my oldest's math teaching on there, we work challenging word problems together on there, I'll put up his keyword outline on there as we go through the writing process (when we're done, he copies the outline to paper), we diagram sentences on there, etc. I started out without a white board, and *teaching* was more difficult with it. When we're having discussions, it's handy to be able to write something on the board. Reminds me of my engineering days, when we'd gather together in a conference room and brainstorm design ideas on a white board. Same thing. Yes, you can use paper, but a white board makes it bigger and easier to see, and I think my kids tend to focus on the white board better than on paper.

 

So I'm very glad to have one. I started out with the 2'x3' on an easel from Sam's. That worked fine, though it was a bit wobbly. The new one is 4'x6', and even just leaning against the wall, it's not wobbly at all. Love it. It will be even better when it's mounted. :D

[8filltheheart]

I don't. I sit with my kids and write on paper.

 

I have used whiteboards in the past (both large and small). The large was the least used bc I do not stand up in front of my kids to teach. The small ones worked well, but I had to make sure that the markers were not dried out and that the boards were cleaned (as the finish gets old,the marker tends to streak the board.)

 

Paper and pencils are always around. It is just easier for me.

 

But......to answer your question, does a white board impact the quality of ed/ teaching......no. Seems to me that making that claim is just plain silly. Just how did Socrates and Aristotle manage??? ;) Jeepers.

[StartingOver]

I have two, a large one and an extra large one. LOL The smaller stays on the wall with our Latin translation keywords in permanent marker ( which can be removed if you write over with a dry erase! ) The second I use for anything and everything, almost daily. It is just easier with both kids to use the white board, than to have them crowd around a piece of paper.

[Homemama2]

We don't use it regularly, but sometimes my son seems to understand things better when I write it up there instead of just looking at the book (I'm thinking in particular of Math Mammoth. I think the pages have too much on them for him to focus or something. ) ;)

[houseofkids&pets]

We have four different sizes to use depending on where we are in the house and what we are doing. Our two largest wall size white boards are actually a shower board cut in half that was purchased from Home Depot. We use them all of the time for math, labeling parts of sentences, practicing spelling words, spelling games (like hang man), making venn diagrams, etc.....We would use up a ton of paper if we didn't have the white boards. My son's favorite use of the large boards is just doodling :hat: .

[RootAnn]

I do use my windows, though, also.

 

Provided you're not getting direct sunlight and won't blind yourself, you can always write on your windows.

 

:iagree: For a treat, we use the windows & deck doors (which are 85% glass).

 

You said you have windows -- try using those with whiteboard markers.

[Mommy22alyns]

I use it pretty much every day. We have an easel and I even use it to write chores and reminders. Math goes so well with a whiteboard, it's like magic!

[Targhee]

Wanted to add that we don't hang ours in front like a classroom. We sit on the floor together in front of the board, in a semi circle if we are all working at that time but usually side by side. Or we put it flat down on the table as a writing surface.

[Tita Gidge]

We do school in the formal dining room.

 

It has a wall of mirrors, and we picked that room so we could use the mirrors as a whiteboard.

 

But we never did, we like to stay seated LOL.

 

So instead I had glass cut to the size of my table. Now we write directly on the table's glass top.

 

I think a whiteboard is nice to have. Hardly necessary, though!

[Lori D.]

We just had several of the lapboard sized whiteboards -- and we used them ALL the time, every day.

 

- Handwriting = writing phobic DSs who would NOT pick up a pencil, loved using colored markers/whiteboard

- Spelling = multiple colors to help my visual learner with seeing spelling patterns and rules

- Writing = brainstorming ideas and points for writing, and then organizing it into a key word outline

- Math = great for working out individual math problems that were not understood

- Grammar = while we didn't do diagramming, we did do a lot of underlining, arrows, circling, etc. to show how parts of speech were working, what was connected, etc.; we also used whiteboards for writing out paragraphs with errors and practice for proofing and fixing errors

 

We had the Graph Lapboard, High Skills Lapboard, and Mid Skills Lapboard from Rainbow Resource, which each had a whiteboard side, and then a markable yellow side that was pre-printed with a helpful template; so the blank map template was great to have handy when discussing History/Geography and to be able to mark countries/states, draw arrows to show connections, etc. And the blank graph template was great in the high school grades for teaching/discussing linear equation problems.

 

BIG fan of whiteboards here! :)

[Luckymama]

We have a 11x17 whiteboard that dd uses mainly for math. It's really handy especially for geometry and for illustrating complex word problems. She uses multicolored thin-tip markers, so much nicer than the regular blunt-tip markers!

 

Dd18 has used the whiteboard this year while studying for AP Bio. She also diagrams sentences for fun on the whiteboard :lol:

[a27mom]

Use our whiteboard a lot here. But I have a medium sized one that we don't hang on the wall. We lay it flat, prop it up, or I can hold it. The girls also have there own smaller ones they use a lot.

 

It sounds a little odd to say it makes you a better teacher. But there is a reason why slates and chalkboards were staples for years. :)

[MunRoLy]

I have been using one since we began homeschooling.

 

http://www.lakeshorelearning.com/product/productDet.jsp?productItemID=1%2C689%2C949%2C371%2C895%2C584&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474395181113&bmUID=1368809230174

 

 

This looks perfect!

[Aloha2U]

Every day! (Imagine me saying that Nacho Libre style. :laugh:)

 

I bought our 24"x 36"magnetic, melamine presentation board and cork board set dirt cheap from Costco years ago. I absolutely love how the whiteboard has a subdued gray dot grid (click on link to see pics of similar dot grid). I wouldn't buy another whiteboard without one.

[joyfulhomeschooler]

We use dry erase markers right on the table. We don't have room in the dining room for hanging one either so this has worked very well for us. It has left no marks on our table either. Comes right off.

[Farrar]

I think it's absurd to say you're making "a big mistake" if you don't teach with one. There are lots of ways to teach.

 

But yes. I have one on an easel that we use and move. And we have several smaller ones that are constantly in use.

[PeterPan]

No time to read the whole thread, but our 17X23 Board Dudes boards have been awesome around here, can't imagine schooling without them. But if you haven't needed them so far, maybe they just aren't essential to your style of teaching or your particular students?

[k8c]

We use ours daily for math, spelling, and language arts.

 

We don't have any free wall space either (one wall is a window, two are covered with bookshelves, and the third is open to the hallway) so I bought a 6ft x 3ft double-sided board that stands up tall and moves on wheels (http://www.quartet.com/quartet/us/us/p/2320/6630MB/quartet%C2%AE-motion%C2%AE-room-divider-3%27-x-6%27-duramax%C2%AE-porcelain-whiteboard-surface.aspx).

 

I bought it on Amazon for less than is listed here, but it was still a good chunk of our budget last year. However, it was so worth it, and will last us for years.

[BlessedMom]

We use our white boards regularly.. We have a large one and several different size small ones.

[Amy in KS]

I love mine. I bought a showerboard at homedepot (sold in a huge sheet). They cut it into thirds for me free (two free cuts) and I have three large whiteboards for about $12. I covered the edges with decorative duct tape to make it look more finished.