CHALKBOARDS!

I love chalkboards and have always wanted one in my kitchen just to write little notes, quotes or reminders on. I was one of those kids that loved getting my name called so I could go in-front of the class just to write on the chalkboard. Yep one touch of that silky white chalk and I was hooked!  Since most schools have dry erase boards now the chalkboard is kind of a novelty with kids. Any kid that comes to the house can't wait to write on it and Courtney is no exception. But little did I know what a great learning tool the chalkboard would be for Courtney. 


While Courtney does have workbooks, flash cards and all that good stuff her favorite it working on the chalkboard. So she will practice everything from weekly spelling words to recipes to math skills on the chalkboard. The chalkboard is different and interesting to her and honestly it's just plain fun to write on with all the brightly colored chalk. 


RECIPES: I will ask Courtney a recipe she wants to write and she chooses whatever she would like. Then she will write the title of the recipe (with spelling assistance if needed). Next I will ask her "what do we need to make ____?" Courtney will begin to think about is needed. 


WHAT TIME IS IT?: I will draw a clock for Courtney and she or I will fill in the numbers 1-12. I will ask her to draw the hour and second hand to specify the time I have given her. Sometimes she will tell me the time she is going to draw and other times I draw the time and she has to answer what time I have shown on the clock.


WEATHER: Courtney and I will talk about the date then I will ask her to give the weather report. She will write on the chalkboard if it's sunny, cloudy, rainy, hot, cold, windy etc. Then she will also write what she should wear because of the weather.


MATH: Courtney answers one digit addition and subtraction problems without the aid of a calculator on the chalkboard. 


CHORES: Courtney has regular chores and will write them on the chalkboard and cross them off as she finishes each task.


And in 7 months of having the chalkboard, Courtney will write little notes to us (unprompted). Sometimes she will write she loves her sister Alex or her family or maybe she will cross out what I wrote for dinner and replace it with McDonalds! 


These are just a few of Courtney's favorite activities to do on the chalkboard.


Skills Used: Memory, Writing, Spelling, Occupational, Cognition, Life Skills, Math, Speech, Language, Social Interaction, Responsibility