Sunday, April 22, 2012

DIY Dry Erase Boards

At the beginning of the year I was in need for a classroom set of dry erase boards. Being a broke first year teacher, I knew that wasn't going to happen. My sister is genius when it comes to creating things out of things you already have. I shared with her one day that I was in need of dry erase boards for each of my students and that is when she gave me this genius, easy idea! Use DVD cases and turn the jackets inside out. DUH! Why didn't I think of that! I had my students each bring in a DVD case. Because my room is super colorful, I had the students take out the jackets, trace around them on a piece of construction paper, cut them out and slide them into the DVD case cover.
The dry erase marker wipes right off of the plastic on the DVD case! It wasn't until we were going through Kleenex box after Kleenex box that I thought, we need something else to wipe our work off with. That's where the glove comes in! I was browsing the aisle at my local Joann Fabrics Store when I saw a huge bin of stretchy gloves on clearance! (My FAVORITE word! CLEARANCE!) Each pair was .50! Instantly, I knew these would be GREAT cheap erasers for our DVD cases! Because the gloves are so thin, they fit PERFECTLY inside of the DVD case!

It is a beautiful thing in my classroom when I can say get out your dry erase marker and go get a dry erase board and everything is right there! I also love that it doesn't take up a bunch of space in my classroom. They all fit perfectly into this basket that the teacher before me left behind! This summer I will be on the look out for a smaller dry erase marker that I can fit into the DVD case along with the glove! Thanks Nikki for being such a genius! I guess we could say that today's idea would be Nikterested!

27 comments:

  1. Erin R.July 18, 2012 at 10:38 AM

    How so smart!!

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  2. AnonymousJuly 18, 2012 at 5:11 PM

    Awesome idea. I love to reuse things I already have ior can get free. Very smart, I agree!,

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  3. SunDevil@AtlanticBeachJuly 26, 2012 at 10:36 PM

    What are you using these mini dry erase boards for?

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  4. Holly GlasgowSeptember 19, 2012 at 10:52 AM

    consider changing out the cover based on what you are using them for. Have one set of inserts for number line addition/subtraction, one for venn diagrams, word sorts, etc.

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  5. Kim HBSeptember 21, 2012 at 7:05 PM

    I absolutely LOVE this idea!!

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  6. MichelleSeptember 26, 2012 at 1:44 PM

    Cute idea! I'm sharing it on FB.

    Michelle @ Teach123

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  7. UnknownSeptember 26, 2012 at 5:02 PM

    Great idea!

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  8. UnknownSeptember 26, 2012 at 5:08 PM

    What a great idea. I need to try this. I find small dry erase markers at The Dollar Tree every year before school starts. 3 for a dollar and they have a small eraser on the top of them, or Target dollar spot had 3 for a dollar also.

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  9. Marge SheridanSeptember 26, 2012 at 7:10 PM

    Great idea! Someone on pinterest suggested using the backside of plastic plates as whiteboards- cheap and easy to store!

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  10. ~~jill4bama~~September 26, 2012 at 7:56 PM

    I LOVE IT!!!

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  11. La Selva November 9, 2012 at 12:25 PM

    Just to let you know, at Target they have a pack of 2 mini dry erasers for $1 in the dollar spot just another idea!

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  12. twonomeDecember 24, 2012 at 9:04 AM

    Love this idea! While I do have white boards for my students, having them sit on the rug just means too many distractions! These would be easy to store and pass out! I also have fleece scraps that I use to erase their white boards. Put a marker and eraser together and I am good to go! Thanks for such a simple yet great idea!!

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  13. tiffJanuary 30, 2013 at 12:45 PM

    they have small 3 packs of dry erase markers at the dollar tree. I bet they would fit inside. Good luck. CUTE!! :)

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  14. tiffJanuary 30, 2013 at 12:45 PM

    they already have an eraser on top too!!

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  15. UnknownMarch 9, 2013 at 4:47 AM

    Amazing idea! I am a pre-service teacher so I am always on the look out for ideas!

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  16. UnknownNovember 20, 2013 at 6:29 PM

    Love this idea but I did with old video cases (free from second hand stores) and was able to easily fit normal sized dry erase markers inside the cover. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  17. kambabes blogNovember 28, 2013 at 10:19 AM

    such a great idea. I will be using this in the new year for my kindergarten class to practice letter writing.

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  18. Mary @ TeachEachOne.wordpressMay 25, 2014 at 6:55 PM

    Very resourceful! It would be fun to have 1 large letter of the alphabet on each case for the little ones to trace
    ... if you had 26 cases :)

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  19. UnknownDecember 18, 2014 at 12:03 AM

    I found it when I was looking for a different sort of information but I am very interested in the article, It is nice to read such kind of good posts I like your work keep it up!
    Dry erase board

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  20. AnonymousDecember 26, 2014 at 3:54 AM

    An interesting post indeed! Tell me one thing, should we consider educational cds for learning lessons?

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  21. UnknownJune 30, 2016 at 11:07 AM

    We have been using the dvd cases for "Close reading cases" for a couple of years. We also store dry erase markers, thin highlighters, and small sticky notes in them. My class this past year couldn't handle it though and they were getting destroyed. We switched to gallon bags as "close kits" and added a sheet protector (so I only had to make a class set of any close reads). They can still use the bags as "white boards" to write on when I ask questions, and they take up less room than the dvd cases. :o)

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  22. Ellen WylieAugust 23, 2016 at 4:45 AM

    This is such a cute idea! http://godryerase.com/

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  23. TrixAugust 8, 2017 at 7:59 PM

    This is such a neat idea!! Thx!

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  24. UnknownApril 26, 2018 at 5:01 AM

    Your articles make whole sense of every topic. ReMARKable whiteboard wall

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  25. UnknownJuly 12, 2018 at 9:49 AM

    I am so glad that I found your idea. I have had a ton of these jewel cases for years and never could think of what to do with them. It is a great idea!

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  26. MiaJuly 15, 2020 at 3:27 AM

    I love this idea. Thank you!

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