White Board Magic: How a White Board Helped My 5yo Talk About Her Adoption

It was at the white board in my 5-year-old’s room when I watched her draw a picture of our family (I’m always secretly relieved when she draws us holding hands with happy faces). We had been playing for a while and I asked her to draw her birth mom on the board. She thoughtfully processed the questions and her response opened up the conversation to discussing how she has been feeling about her adoption. Not every question she asked had an answer, some things were easy to explain, some were not. And in the end we are so glad we decided to mount the white board in her room.

With our newly mounted dry erase board and some markers in hand we started spending intentional time with our kids drawing. We are amazed on what new things we discovered and how enjoyable the time has been. Now, I know this is obvious stuff, especially if you specialize in child development, homeschool, or are in a related field, but I have been pleasantly surprised with its versatility.

Here is my parenting take away.

Benefits

Novelty – It is something different at home then coloring, but not as messy as painting.

But also, familiarity – It has been fun to see them mimic teachers’ styles and expressions “playing school”.

Reusable – Its easy to wipe off and use again and again.

Inexpensive – You can have a set up with $20

Play Ideas

Educational – Work on letter recognition. Make dotted lines for children to follow. Work on letter sounds and combinations, try cursive handwriting.

Games – Are a great way to engage a young child, try tic-tac-toe, hangman, letter scramble and Pictionary.

Parenting Enhancer – Discuss bedtime routine and goals. List the bedtime or morning tasks and check them off upon completion.

Emotional Insight – Learn new things about how your child is feeling through pictures, drawing, engagement and question asking.

Write them a Note of Encouragement – Sneak into their room and write a note for them to wake up to. Practice some sight word while you are at it. What a great way to start their day!

Some Tips

Engage Your Child and Set Structure – Lead the play and sit down with your child offer some structure “lets draw a picture of our family” “Lets draw a picture of each other” “How about we each draw our best frog” “Have you ever played tic-tac-toe?” “Is there a game you would like to play?”

Comfort – Make the space around the white board accessible and comfortable, adults may benefit from a stool, chair, or pillow.

Fresh Markers  – Fresh markers are just the best! Even as an adult

Other Options – If you don’t have space for a white board, try an easel, chalk board, or conference size poster board papers, or a just piece of paper…the real key is an engaged parent!
It’s amazing what conversations can arise with such a simple activity. What fun games would you suggest?

However past all the fun, look out fellow parents…or you might get this note addressed to you after a particularly tricky bedtime! 

I Love You but you can’t throw a tantrum

 


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Megan Bayer
Megan has lived in Wichita since 1999, graduated in 2003 as an RN, and received her MSN in Nursing Education in 2016. Megan loves teaching and works in healthcare as Director of Simulation at Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine. She is a survivor of childhood cancer that led to some complicated reproductive issues, including the loss of their son Lincoln (18wks, 2008) and daughter Basil (23wks 2010). With a best friend to spend a life-time with and a vision of a family David and Megan embarked on three amazing adoption journeys. With active kids (London 2012, Locklyn 2013 & Ronnie 2015) and busy careers, life is anything but slow-paced.