A few years ago I discovered an amazing little treasure, dry erase crayons. Dry-erase crayons are one of my favorite classroom treasures... no, really I LOVE them! Dry erase crayons are much more functional than dry erase markers as they can develop a feet like smell, dry out, and leave marks. You or your students can write on any hard surface with them and it wipes right off with a disinfecting wipe! Check out all the things we write on...
They love to write on our file cabinets and our univent heater. I hated the wasted space so my kiddos create sentences during work on writing (part of daily 5) with sight word magnets and the dry erase crayon (note that she is writing about how much fun SUMMER SCHOOL is).We also write on our desks, pods, and tables... word wall words...vocabulary sentences... personal narratives... anything you can write on paper you can write on your desk!
The best part is you clean off the germs right along with the crayon! I also have my kiddos write on my rainbow table during guided reading.
They write down predictions, questions, or words they need help with, and when it's time for the next group I just wipe it all away.
The kids all finish their work when they get to use the dry erase crayons because feels a little naughty to write on furniture!
Another way we use them is with my version of personal dry erase boards. Dollar store cookie sheets are perfect for these, super cheap, and easy to clean. They kids like them a lot more than the old school where dry erase boards which can be expensive!
This is especially great at the end of the year when they are getting a little bored! I often hide these away until I'm a little desperate, then when I bring them out it's like a special treat! Sadly they don't really work well on dry erase boards because they are hard to get off for some reason.
They're also really thick and easy to grip which makes them a great tool for my kiddos with fine motor issues. They get the fat, easy to grip tool they need without the stigma that could come with using fat crayons and pencils or pencils normally used by younger kids.
You can find these treasures at Amazon, Target, and probably many other places too! I can wait to see how you use them!
