Whiteboards Just Don't Cut It

I wish I brought my camera more to work, because I never know what I'm going to see.  Every once in a while, I get to work in a classroom that is so beautifully filled with children's artwork and such an inviting and warm environment that I wish I could spend every day there.  Also, believe it or not, sometimes I get inspiration for projects I could incorporate into my own home.  I can't forgive myself for not being able to photograph the classroom I worked in recently with floor to ceiling windows covered in stained glass artwork.

I did walk into this classroom the other day though, and was pleasantly surprised to find a blackboard, dusty with chalk and (my favorite part) covered in little snowflakes.  I think it would be nice to have a little "idea chalkboard" in my own home near my work area.  As a teacher, nothing beats writing your name on the smooth slate to introduce yourself to a class (and it sure conjures up memories of grammar school when you wrote your name on the board for being naughty).  I remember kids used to love being picked to clean the erasures every week, with the big dusty vacuum-like machine, and wash the blackboard at the end of each day, making it smooth and shiny with straight sponge strokes.