If you’ve been to a Classical Conversations Community Day, then you’ve seen the beautiful tri-fold dry erase boards used in the classrooms. This is a great way for tutors to display each week’s new memory work in an organized fashion! It can be used over and over again for each cycle. Amazing!
In just three easy steps and about $30 of material, I will show you how to make this must-have for CC. Let’s jump right to it. I know you have no time to waste!
Supplies Needed to Make a CC Tutor Board
- (1) 4’x8′ Marker Board Panel from Lowe’s (see picture with item# below)
- (1) Roll Duck Tape of choice
- Pencil
- Marker (optional, not necessary)
- Scissors
This is the marker board you want to get from Lowe’s:
Before you leave the store ask an employee to cut your marker board to size. This is a large panel and will make two tutor boards. Give one to a friend, or sell it to make back the money you’ve put into supplies!
Step 1: Cut Marker Board to Size
Ask the Lowe’s employee to cut the panel into (2) 2’x3′ pieces and (4) 1’x3′ pieces. The larger piece is the center of your board and the smaller will be the wings. It’s ok if one of the wings is a pinch smaller- you won’t notice on the final product! There will be a 1’x8′ section leftover- ask the employee to cut it however you’d like! They make great personal white boards at home.
Step 2: Add Borders onto Each Section
Since Duck Tape will be holding the pieces together, adding a border around each section makes it look more polished. The pictures below show a solid Duck Tape option (I realized too late that I have brown on brown on brown but I think you can still see the progression). If you plan to use a patterned Duck Tape, I recommend keeping the inner borders bare, so you don’t have a messy overlap of Duck Tape to mess up your pattern. I’ll include a picture of the US Flag pattern I chose for Cycle 3 below to demonstrate this.
Cut the tape slightly larger than each side (you’ll trim the excess when you’ve folded it over on both sides) and place on floor sticky side up above a 1’x3′ section of marker board. Use a marker to mark the center of each end of tape, or eyeball the center line. Carefully place the board, white side down, onto the bottom half of tape. Smooth board out to adhere tape. Starting in the middle, fold Duck Tape over the back side of the board and smooth the tape along the entire edge, pulling firmly to create a smooth border against the edge. Bubbles on the back side are fine- no one will see!
Repeat this process for all four sides. Trim excess tape on corners. Flip board over to check your progress.
Repeat for the other 1’x3′ and 2’x3′ section.
Step 3: Connect the 3 Panels
Last step! The pencil will be your spacer to ensure there’s enough space for proper movement.
Line up the panels at the top and place pencils on each side of the middle board. Remove pencils and lay a strip of Duck Tape over the gap to connect each wing to the center board. Gently fold excess tape over top and bottom edges; carefully flip board and repeat to back side.
That’s it! You’re ready to set up your newly constructed Tri-Fold Dry Erase Board.
Important Notes
You’ll want to use Wet Erase markers on your board, as Dry Erase will leave shadows behind after being wiped off.
This board transports easily but if the wings are opening as you go and you’re worried about it getting damaged, use a Jumbo Binder Clip to close and secure the pieces together.
As mentioned previously, if using a patterned Duck Tape, be sure to leave the inner borders untaped until you’re ready to connect the wings to the main panel. Failure to do so will likely result in a messy, overlapped or see-through seam. I’ve included a picture for visual:
Our family loves our Classical Conversations Community and I’m so excited to use this tutor board this year to lead my Foundations classroom! Even my little guy was excited to watch this project progress from ordinary whiteboard panels to a sophisticated tri-fold 😉
How long have you been with Classical Conversations? Drop a comment below or share this post with a friend!
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