Fun Morning Messages!

If you follow me on Instagram, you've seen my orange board messages and I've promised a blog post about it forever - so here it is! A while ago I saw this little table top easel at Hobby Lobby and had to have it. I had no idea what I was going to do with it at the time, but I knew I had to have it. Needless to say, it sat unused for a few months until I had the "Bright Idea" to use it as a quick and easy way to welcome my kids to school!

Our kids line up in the hallway before school. We have books for them to read and they can chit chat while they're waiting to come in and now the orange board gives them something meaningful to discuss! They really look forward to it every day. I have forgotten to change the message twice so far this year, and man did I hear about it! I also have teachers and other kids stopping in to ask the answer, too! It's been a fun conversation starter.

Ok - here are the questions I get asked most often about the board:

Where/How do I display the board?

I tuck the legs into a plastic pocket that is mounted outside my classroom door. {We used to use it for attendance, but now there's no real use for it. Perfect for my Orange Board!}

What do I use to write on the board?

I use Bistro Liquid Chalk markers. You can see them here. I spray the board with Expo spray and wipe it down with paper towels and it's ready for the next day!

Where do I get the messages?

I usually Google "kids trivia", "fun facts for kids", "jokes for kids" and see what pops up. Now that I've been doing it for a while, I try to make the question relate to something we've learned about or discussed recently.

When do I discuss the answer?

Well, I used to do it as they were walking in, but those first few minutes of the day are SO crazy. Now I keep them in suspense for a while! On the way back from lunch, we pause for a minute in front of the door and discuss the question. This also gives them some time to look it up if they want to before we talk about it as a class. It only takes a minute or two and they really look forward to it!

What do I call it?

Um, honestly, we call it "The Orange Board" lol! I intended to call it something really cute and fun, but I started calling it Orange Board and it just kind of stuck. Even now that I'm using the cute little owl board for October, we still call it The Orange Board!

It's brought a lot of fun discussion to our class. If you give it a try, let me know how it goes!