Read Online The Write Start by Jennifer Hallissy - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jennifer Hallissy
Tags: Non-Fiction
Ads: Link
timeless (and equally intelligent choice) for home.
DIY: Chalkboard Paint
Just imagine my delight when I discovered chalkboard paint. It was as if a new world had opened up to me! I painted one whole wall of my office, from floor to twelve-foot ceiling, in green chalkboard paint. And, oh, the writing that ensued!
At home, I’ve lost track of how many surfaces I’ve enhanced with chalkboard paint. I like to think of it as developmentally-appropriate décor. Wherever I find to use it, it turns a space into the perfect combination of form, function, and fun.
MATERIALS
painter’s masking tape
chalkboard paint (available at hardware stores)
paintbrush
drop cloth
HOW-TO
1. Use low-tack painter’s masking tape to section off the area you’ve chosen to be painted with chalkboard paint.
2. Following the directions on the paint can, apply a first coat of paint. Let it dry.
3. Repeat with one to two additional coats, allowing four to six hours’ drying time between coats.
4. When paint is thoroughly dry, remove the masking tape.
5. Let the paint cure according to the directions, usually about two days.
6. Holding a piece of chalk on its side, rub the entire surface to cover it with a thin layer of chalk dust. Wipe off the excess.
Your chalkboard is now ready for use. You can write on it, erase it, and wash it with a barely damp cloth when needed. We use ours for drawing maps, leaving messages, writing to-dos, making special-occasion signs (like “Happy Birthday” and “Congratulations!”), keeping score, jotting down reminders, writing menus, and playing tic-tac-toe. We use it constantly; it was well worth the effort!
A Place of One’s Own
As we learned from the movie Field of Dreams, if you build it, they will come. I assure you that this rule can apply in your home as well. If you make a place for it, they will write.
Devoting an area in your home to writing sends a message to your child. It says that writing is so important that it deserves its own special spot. It doesn’t have to be an entire room of one’s own, as writer Virginia Woolf described, just a dedicated area for organizing writing tools and supplies. Young writers will gravitate toward this spot to collect their materials and gather their thoughts. And they will know exactly where to find their latest work in progress when inspiration strikes.
FYI: Make Your Mark
Don’t forget these other ingenious ideas:
• Tub crayons on bathtub walls
• Fabric markers on T-shirts
• Body crayons for messages on . . . you!
• Food markers for writing on your sandwich
• Magnetic letters on fridges, washers and dryers, little red wagons
• Window crayons on windows, glass doors, and mirrors
• Sidewalk chalk on the sidewalk, front steps, or a stone wall
My father built my first desk. I remember it clearly—it was blue with a pegboard back. And although it was kid-sized, it wasn’t flimsy in the least. It was built like a battleship, which made me feel very important, as if he expected I would spend many hours there and that my work would be something to be reckoned with, a force of nature.
Carving out a little spot in your home for your young writers is more than just a way of saying, “Put your pencils here.” It also communicates that you value their ideas. It’s a promise to our kids that we are confident that the day will come when they will need to sit down and plot their course, draft their dreams, write their own story. Hey, childhood is the time to make big plans, you know? Creating a thoughtful corner for them to write it all down encourages them to find their own voices and to begin to carve out their own little niches in the world.
Desk and Chair
Remember Goldilocks? After eating up all that porridge, she felt a little tired and decided it would be a good idea to sit down. She passed up the first chair she tried (too hard), and turned her nose up at the
DIY: Chalkboard Paint
Just imagine my delight when I discovered chalkboard paint. It was as if a new world had opened up to me! I painted one whole wall of my office, from floor to twelve-foot ceiling, in green chalkboard paint. And, oh, the writing that ensued!
At home, I’ve lost track of how many surfaces I’ve enhanced with chalkboard paint. I like to think of it as developmentally-appropriate décor. Wherever I find to use it, it turns a space into the perfect combination of form, function, and fun.
MATERIALS
painter’s masking tape
chalkboard paint (available at hardware stores)
paintbrush
drop cloth
HOW-TO
1. Use low-tack painter’s masking tape to section off the area you’ve chosen to be painted with chalkboard paint.
2. Following the directions on the paint can, apply a first coat of paint. Let it dry.
3. Repeat with one to two additional coats, allowing four to six hours’ drying time between coats.
4. When paint is thoroughly dry, remove the masking tape.
5. Let the paint cure according to the directions, usually about two days.
6. Holding a piece of chalk on its side, rub the entire surface to cover it with a thin layer of chalk dust. Wipe off the excess.
Your chalkboard is now ready for use. You can write on it, erase it, and wash it with a barely damp cloth when needed. We use ours for drawing maps, leaving messages, writing to-dos, making special-occasion signs (like “Happy Birthday” and “Congratulations!”), keeping score, jotting down reminders, writing menus, and playing tic-tac-toe. We use it constantly; it was well worth the effort!
A Place of One’s Own
As we learned from the movie Field of Dreams, if you build it, they will come. I assure you that this rule can apply in your home as well. If you make a place for it, they will write.
Devoting an area in your home to writing sends a message to your child. It says that writing is so important that it deserves its own special spot. It doesn’t have to be an entire room of one’s own, as writer Virginia Woolf described, just a dedicated area for organizing writing tools and supplies. Young writers will gravitate toward this spot to collect their materials and gather their thoughts. And they will know exactly where to find their latest work in progress when inspiration strikes.
FYI: Make Your Mark
Don’t forget these other ingenious ideas:
• Tub crayons on bathtub walls
• Fabric markers on T-shirts
• Body crayons for messages on . . . you!
• Food markers for writing on your sandwich
• Magnetic letters on fridges, washers and dryers, little red wagons
• Window crayons on windows, glass doors, and mirrors
• Sidewalk chalk on the sidewalk, front steps, or a stone wall
My father built my first desk. I remember it clearly—it was blue with a pegboard back. And although it was kid-sized, it wasn’t flimsy in the least. It was built like a battleship, which made me feel very important, as if he expected I would spend many hours there and that my work would be something to be reckoned with, a force of nature.
Carving out a little spot in your home for your young writers is more than just a way of saying, “Put your pencils here.” It also communicates that you value their ideas. It’s a promise to our kids that we are confident that the day will come when they will need to sit down and plot their course, draft their dreams, write their own story. Hey, childhood is the time to make big plans, you know? Creating a thoughtful corner for them to write it all down encourages them to find their own voices and to begin to carve out their own little niches in the world.
Desk and Chair
Remember Goldilocks? After eating up all that porridge, she felt a little tired and decided it would be a good idea to sit down. She passed up the first chair she tried (too hard), and turned her nose up at the
Similar Books
