How We Use Boogie Board eWriters For Homeschool
*disclosure—I’m so excited to be a Brand Ambassador for Boogie Board e-Writers and share what we love about them! I am being compensated for sharing about Boogie Boards in this blog post, but the content and opinions are all mine! Contains affiliate links.
If you homeschool, you know you are going to be killing a lot of trees. There is the constant writing and journaling and copying and notebooking and sketching. That takes a lot of paper. And, God forbid, you have to do school on the road (library, car, ice rink, gym, etc.) and have to take all that paper with you!
The paper waste and the backpack full of notebooks, sketchbooks, and various writing utensils was starting to wear on me. I didn’t like the idea or cost of throwing away lots of paper and I didn’t like the workout we were all getting from hauling it around.
I was so thankful that my friends Colleen, Raising Lifelong Learners, and Aurie, Our Good Life, shared how their kids used Boogie Board eWriters for homeschool. Â They convinced me to buy one and it has changed our homeschooling!
Benefits Of The Boogie Board
Boogie Boards are light-weight, kid-friendly e-writers. You can write on the screen of the Boogie Board with the included stylus and then erase it with a click of a button. So, you can use it over and over again. No more paper waste. No more backpacks full of paper.
While I think Boogie Boards are good for practical reasons, my kids think they are great because they are fun! The kids love to use them, so much so that they will fight over them. Thus, we have two Boogie Boards! We, currently, have the Boogie Board Jot 8.5 LCD eWriter and the Boogie Board 8.5-Inch LCD Writing Tablet.
Using Boogie Boards For Homeschool
We have found so many practical and fun ways to use our Boogie Boards ewriters for homeschool. These clever little devices have added variety into our homeschool day and have given they kids new ways to get their studies done.
Great For Lefties
My son is left-handed and smears pencil lead or ink every time he writes. This frustrates him to the point that he hates to write. He is thrilled that he can write on the Boogie Board smear-free!
Instead of fighting him to write on paper, he now does most of his writing (including math problems) on the Boogie Board without a word. He still does the work. He just uses a different writing surface. It makes for a more peaceful homeschool day!
Math Problems
When I teach the kids math, we do lots of practice problems. I used to go upstairs to the big white board in the toy room. It was a little inconvenient since we do all our other school work downstairs. Plus, I really didn’t like the white board mess and the constant replacement of dried up markers. So, we started using paper. Lots of paper.
When we got the Boogie Board, that all changed. We now do most of our math practice problems on the Boogie Board. Less messy and more fun!
Drawing Science Diagrams
I like to draw pictures and diagrams when explaining a new scientific concept. Instead of wasting more paper and searching for my favorite mechanical pencil (that is always missing), I grab a Boogie Boogie board and draw away.
Sketching
My kids like to draw and sketch for school work and just for fun. They are constantly sketching on the Boogie Board. It is a great way to practice a new drawing subject.
This morning, my son and I used the Boogie Board to sketch things we found in the 20 Ways To Draw A Tree book. We did school at a local coffee shop while my daughter was in knitting class. Instead of hauling our notebooks, we brought the Boogie Board.
Homeschool On The Go
As I mentioned above, we do school outside of the home. This morning, it was at the coffee shop. On any given day, you’ll find us working on our lessons at the library, at the ice rink, at the park, or in the car. I keep the Boogie Board in my bag so that we always have it.
We can even use the Boogie Board while doing school outside. No glare!
Making Lists
I am a list maker. I’m teaching my kids to be list makers. It is the best way to make sure things get done.
I make grocery lists, chore lists, school assignment lists, spelling lists, science supply lists…all on the Boogie Board. And if I want to save those lists? I just use the Jot iPhone app from Boogie Board to save them!
Jot saves the list, or drawing, to your phone where you can interact with it. You can cross things off your lists, add to your lists, and sketch additions to your drawings.
Have you used a Boogie Board yet?