Okay...so its not so much a toy as it is a useful office supply. On Memorial Day on our way home we stopped at W-Mart and I bought a laminator. I have always wanted one for various reasons. When I have looked online for them they have always been very expensive. This one was $25. Its a thermal laminator so it gives things you laminate a hard plastic finish, which is exactly what I wanted.
I tested it out by printing a dots game on a half sheet of paper. On the other side I did a tic tac toe board, and then I laminated them. The boys used them with a dry erase marker at church and it was a great distraction and kept them quiet. I think I may do a whole set of things for quiet use in the car and at church. Mazes, coloring pages, a hangman board, and various other paper games. I am going to invest in a set of wipe off crayons though, because they don't get on clothes the way dry erase markers do, and if the boys color a picture it will stay on the picture until I wipe it off. Wiping it off is a little harder than with dry erase, but the contained mess in my opinion is worth the extra effort.
I also have plans to laminate a set of Thomas the Tank Engine Stickers and Tracks and attach magnets to the back so that #5 can make scenes with them. You can get magnetic paint fairly easily and I am thinking of painting a wooden clipboard for him to use it with, or if I decide that is too much hassle, I will just get a small cookie sheet for him to keep his magnets on. Then he will have something to play with in the car, and the stickers will last so much longer than if he was just using them as stickers.
Of course the real reason we bought it is to make schedules for our family. Two of our boys have Asperger's, and they can get emotional when unexpected changes happen. They need a lot of structure in their day, and to be honest I need that too. Lately I have been just... unmotivated. With summer coming, I decided that we needed to try something different. At school the boys have a small folder with their schedules. Small squares with icons and words describing their different activities and subjects for the day are put in their schedules and they have a Velcro backing so that they can be moved around. We are going to try having a family schedule and a more structured approach to our days over the summer to see if we can reduce some of the stress. Wish me luck! I have never tried this before.
I have also printed out a list for myself of things I would like to accomplish every day. I will laminate it and check things off with a dry erase marker so that I can see my progress and feel good about what I am doing. Some days I end up sitting at the computer all day reading and writing blogs (please don't ask me if I am still wearing my PJs right now) and I need to be doing more around the house and for the boys. This will help to motivate me and get me off my rear end. I did schedule an hour of computer time twice during the day, so I have my reward.
What other uses for our laminator? I would love to hear your ideas. Here are some of mine...
Paper Dolls as gifts for our nieces.
Preserving Certificates and other memorabilia
Photo Collages to frame for family gifts
Wipe off practice boards for teaching the younger boys writing and numbers
Flash cards
A card game our family can design and laminate for durability
Luggage Tags
Book Marks
Favorite Recipes to protect them from food splatters
Refridgerator magnets...
What are your ideas?
I tested it out by printing a dots game on a half sheet of paper. On the other side I did a tic tac toe board, and then I laminated them. The boys used them with a dry erase marker at church and it was a great distraction and kept them quiet. I think I may do a whole set of things for quiet use in the car and at church. Mazes, coloring pages, a hangman board, and various other paper games. I am going to invest in a set of wipe off crayons though, because they don't get on clothes the way dry erase markers do, and if the boys color a picture it will stay on the picture until I wipe it off. Wiping it off is a little harder than with dry erase, but the contained mess in my opinion is worth the extra effort.
I also have plans to laminate a set of Thomas the Tank Engine Stickers and Tracks and attach magnets to the back so that #5 can make scenes with them. You can get magnetic paint fairly easily and I am thinking of painting a wooden clipboard for him to use it with, or if I decide that is too much hassle, I will just get a small cookie sheet for him to keep his magnets on. Then he will have something to play with in the car, and the stickers will last so much longer than if he was just using them as stickers.
Of course the real reason we bought it is to make schedules for our family. Two of our boys have Asperger's, and they can get emotional when unexpected changes happen. They need a lot of structure in their day, and to be honest I need that too. Lately I have been just... unmotivated. With summer coming, I decided that we needed to try something different. At school the boys have a small folder with their schedules. Small squares with icons and words describing their different activities and subjects for the day are put in their schedules and they have a Velcro backing so that they can be moved around. We are going to try having a family schedule and a more structured approach to our days over the summer to see if we can reduce some of the stress. Wish me luck! I have never tried this before.
I have also printed out a list for myself of things I would like to accomplish every day. I will laminate it and check things off with a dry erase marker so that I can see my progress and feel good about what I am doing. Some days I end up sitting at the computer all day reading and writing blogs (please don't ask me if I am still wearing my PJs right now) and I need to be doing more around the house and for the boys. This will help to motivate me and get me off my rear end. I did schedule an hour of computer time twice during the day, so I have my reward.
What other uses for our laminator? I would love to hear your ideas. Here are some of mine...
Paper Dolls as gifts for our nieces.
Preserving Certificates and other memorabilia
Photo Collages to frame for family gifts
Wipe off practice boards for teaching the younger boys writing and numbers
Flash cards
A card game our family can design and laminate for durability
Luggage Tags
Book Marks
Favorite Recipes to protect them from food splatters
Refridgerator magnets...
What are your ideas?
4 comments:
What an awesome new toy! Getting a label maker has been topping my list, but suddenly a laminator is looking like a brilliant idea!
What creative uses you've thought of - wow!
Why is Kimberly always first?
Okay, the laminator is very cool. I would have thought of the games, but not the stikers. #5 like's Thomas stuff huh? Do you have a lot of Thomas stuff? Do you want more?
P.S. This blog is having a contest...I don't know how long it lasts, but she says anyone can participate.
http://askalutheran.blogspot.com/2007/06/summer-reading-contest.html
You can always make picture frames and stick magnets on the back. Put them on the fridge. Make your very own handy dandy chore charts or book covers. The mind boggles with the things a simple laminator can do. I'm just too dang lazy to do them.
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