Getting ready for school to start

School is just around the corner for my kiddos and it is bittersweet.  I am so excited for them to get some time away from each other so they can appreciate each other more!!  BUT, I am going to have a hard time with Anthony going to school full time and Logan going to school at all!!  My babies are growing up too fast!

~anyway~

I knew that with school starting I needed to get them on a schedule.  They don't go to any kind of day care, so for the most part besides meal, the day is pretty much a free for all.  I have always been a fan of check lists (I get it from my mom...she loves checklists!)  I saw this checklist type clipboard on Pinterest, sadly when I clicked on the link it was spam.  So I really just had a picture to go off of.  Before you continue you should know that I am NOT a crafty person.  I just try to be.  I am not an artist (my sister got all of those genes).  And when I try this kind of stuff there is usually more than one flaw.  But this is what I came up with...

I did two clipboards for each of my kiddos.  One for the morning and one for the evening.  I also purchased a small digital clock to put in the bathroom.  Click here to see one similar.  The clock is so that I can tell them what time they need to be done in the bathroom by.  We also have the alarm set for when they need to start their bed time routine.  They do tend to argue less when the alarm goes off or if they get to keep track of the time on their own.  To start you will need these...

I got this vinyl table cloth from Walmart for like $5 that I use whenever I paint.  I wanted the traditional clipboard, but you could try plastic.  I got mine from Staples because I swear no one carried plain clipboards anymore ($2.29 for 1...I got a set of 3 for $4.49 and then 1 additional).  The Mod Podge and acrylic paint I had from a previous project.  Make sure you have a fresh foam brush.  I thought mine was new but it was a little flimsy making application a little difficult.  Paint pen, I used black.  Scrap book paper for the bottom ($0.16).  Magnet squares, you will need 10 per board ($3.49for 40).  I used small round magnets ($6.99 for 60) and foam stickers ($2.99) to make the star magnets.  Minus the clipboards, I got the rest of the supplies from Michael's.  Look online and in your local paper for coupons, you can get anywhere from 25% off purchase to 40% off an item.
First, Paint your clipboard.  After I started I decided to add some painter's tape around the top.

Use old newspaper or magazine pages to put your paint on.  This is the first coat.  You will need at least two coats of paint.  Decide what you want your board to have listed on it.  After the paint dried I marked off every inch up to 6 inches from the bottom of the clip.

Then, very lightly with a pencil I drew a line across at each inch 6.5 inches across.

Then, I wrote the list with pencil to make sure my spacing was OK before I wrote over the pencil with a paint pen.

I then cut 3 inches of scrapbook paper per board.  I did a very thin layer of mod podge to seal the paint and writing and laid the paper at the bottom if the last item on the list.

Let that sit for about 10min and then apply another thin layer of the mod podge all over the board including over the paper.  Be very careful here because the paper can wrinkle or bubble if there is 









too much mod podge.  I had to smooth them out a couple of times, and sadly there are still a few. Be prepared to get glue fingers here! ;)  Let the last coat dry for about 15min.  Next up is making the magnets.  So take the round magnets and the foam stickers and put them together. :)  The boys had fun helping me with this part.

Then take the square magnets with adhesive on them and put five on the bottom ( or however many you may need) and one next to each task.



As my peanuts accomplish a task they can move a star next to it.  Logan is not old enough to have "homework" yet, but then I don't have to make another one when he is.  ;)...I did consider putting times on the one for the morning but decided against it for when schedules may change.  I do plan on putting some ribbon through the hole on the clipboard and hang them.  This project did take me about 2hrs.  However, I was making 4 of them and had to figure out the best way for me to do it.  If you follow these steps, it shouldn't take you as long.

To make it a little more interesting for the boys my hubbs and I decided to add a little incentive.  Every time the boys do all 5 tasks on a clipboard they get a "stick" or a craft stick. After receiving 10 sticks they have a choice of picking a dinner for the following week or trading them in for a red stick.  After earning 3 red sticks they get to pick a restaurant to eat at of their choice.  You should know that dinner time in my house is a struggle.  I want a balanced meal and they would prefer just a grilled cheese sandwich  "with nothing else please!!"  So, they love picking what is for dinner.  They love to eat at "restaurants" and we don't do it often.   Try to come up with something fun for your kiddos! 

Let me know what fun things you add to this project!

<3 Ashley