We go through several workbooks in this household, so I was trying to come up with an easy way to reuse them and save them for when Clara is a little older. This seemed to work the best, and it’s also very frugal.
To reuse sheets from a workbook, tear out the pages, and place them in plastic sheet protectors. Your child can write on them using dry-erase markers.
I found that the marker doesn’t wipe off on their hands, but it easily wipes off of the sheet protector using a felt eraser!
Now we get a lot more mileage out of those workbooks!For more “Family Friday” links, visit HomeEverAfter.com.
September 17th, 2009 on 6:21 pm
Dear Valerie,
Are my sheets now unprotected? I feel so vulnerable. Put that coffee away!!
Love,
Mark
September 17th, 2009 on 6:35 pm
You are clever! Thanks for the tip.
September 17th, 2009 on 6:46 pm
@ Mark — Wait til you see what I do with your pocket protecters next week. You feel vulnerable now?? That's a real exercise in trust.
@ sunnymama — You're very welcome!
September 17th, 2009 on 7:08 pm
Thats genius!! I was making copies, but thats so much better!
September 17th, 2009 on 8:02 pm
We do this too! C and R are 19 months apart so I want to save all of the workbooks, dot to dots, etc. It's a great tip!
September 17th, 2009 on 8:42 pm
That is one of those "why didn't I think of that?" moments! Geez, I've been buying them new ones. I have those page protectors upstairs.
Thanks!
September 17th, 2009 on 9:21 pm
What a great idea!
September 17th, 2009 on 9:24 pm
Just had a thought, this would be a great tip for Make-Do Monday if you wanted to share it there next week
http://annkroeker.wordpress.com/
September 17th, 2009 on 9:25 pm
@sunnymama — Thank you! Yes, I'll be sure to link up there. Fun!
September 17th, 2009 on 9:38 pm
Brilliant! Thanks.
September 17th, 2009 on 10:26 pm
Very good tip!
September 17th, 2009 on 10:56 pm
Oh, I do this! Only, I keep the pages in a 3-ring binder, and move the sheet protector from one place to the next. I use this method to use and reuse curriculum with my kiddoes without wasting paper or money. I love it!
September 17th, 2009 on 11:19 pm
Dear Valerie,
Ha ha! The joke's on you! I don't have pocket protectors! In fact, I rarely use pens and pencils at work anymore.
Love,
Mark
September 18th, 2009 on 2:06 am
Great idea!!!
I just have to find out what a dry-erase is in italian
But i guess my little boy would like it very much.
Thank you Valerie!
September 18th, 2009 on 4:00 am
now aren't you the clever one… but my kids are funny… with workbooks and such they never do that stuff more than once. Not so frugal, eh?!
September 18th, 2009 on 9:01 am
I love your blog- the activities you plan for kids are achievable by an actual preschooler, and quick enough that they can see a project through to the finish themselves! So many mama crafters seem to care more about the aesthetics of the finished piece, and how it will 'go' with their decor rather than letting their kids go wild with the tape and paint. (Not that your activities aren't cute!)
If you don't have a white-board marker to draw on your laminated mazes and dot to dots, use a regular texta (felt tip marker?) and it comes off with butt wipes, but I have to ration the wipes out or my two boys would use up a whole stack for the fun of it.
September 18th, 2009 on 9:24 am
I just posted about this, too! I love that I don't have to constantly print pages out from the computer.
September 18th, 2009 on 9:25 am
I'm going to tell my neighbor this. I think this is a great idea for her.
September 18th, 2009 on 6:59 pm
We do this too, but I switched to using crayola washable markers because they come out of clothes (and still wash off of these with a little water). Emily is probably old enough not to draw on herself/her clothes, but it's a good tip for younger kids.
September 20th, 2009 on 10:49 am
That is such a good idea. I was thinking about the children's workbooks the other day. My youngest often nabs them and scribbles in them after the kids use them. I try to keep her from writing on the unused ones. I've been getting the workbooks from the dollar store too so they aren't too expensive, but this is a great way to save even more!
September 21st, 2009 on 2:58 pm
Such a great idea!!
September 22nd, 2009 on 11:50 am
Wow, great tip! Thanks!
September 22nd, 2009 on 9:52 pm
This is such a great idea! I had been making copies as well! What a duh moment!
I've linked to this on my site. Thanks again for the great tip!
September 23rd, 2009 on 12:17 am
Thank you sincerely for saving me a zillion dollars on ink!
November 19th, 2009 on 1:47 pm
I use the cute drawings in used workbooks for collages.
Marie-Anne