Back in February, I literally discovered an ad about KleenSlate and thought the idea was ingenious. I decided to see if it could be possible to review one. They were trilled to agree to this request and I received the package within a couple of weeks. Imagine my surprised when I saw not one or two KleenSlates but four of them. One for each of the kids! Sweet! And not only that but I also received two microfiber cleaning cloths , a packages of 24 black pens as well as a package of colorful ones too.
Though this was originally designed for classrooms I quickly started thinking on how I could use them in a homeschool environment. Having four kids that are spread in ages – 4, 6, 8, and almost 11 – it is a bit hard for me to do drills between them. However, I could easily test them on math and spelling.
Rectangle paddle with marker/eraser – Price 7.25$ each
One (1) 2-sided, dry erase response rectangle paddle with integrated marker and eraser in the handle. Dry erase writing surface is 8 x 10 inches. One side is blank and one side is a graph. Comes in 8 vibrant colors. Back side can be either a graph, lines, music sheet or venn diagram. The also have a round version of the KleenSlate!
We received four rectangle paddles (all in different colors) – two with the graph side and two with the lines side. It is perfect for various things whether to practice your writing, do bar charts for mathematics or simply draw. I find it ingenious that the marker fits perfectly in the handle of the KleenSlate so that it can’t get lost or misplaced.
Microfiber Cleaning Cloth – Price 2.50$ each
Microfiber cleaning cloth. Perfect for cleaning white-boards and paddles. The ones we received had a little hole in it and you can insert a ring to attach on the KleenSlate. Great idea which once again help not to misplace the microfiber cleaning cloth.
10 Pack colored markers with erasers – Price 15$
Ten (10) dry erase colored markers with eraser cap. Small barrel and medium point. Low-odor, non-toxic, kid-friendly with points that don’t push in. Conform to Consumer Product Safety (CPSIA) standards.
Colors included are red, blue, sky-blue, purple, pink, orange, light-green, forest-green and 2 black.
This was a nice surprise… Having the colors is helpful for other things in our homeschool. I have transparent sheets in some workbooks where the kids can write their answers on top of the page. Sometimes they need to color so they use the color markers. I also use these to write on our big white board if I need to explain something to one of the kids. Very useful!
By the time I arrive to this package of black markers, I was speechless. Not only these markers have the felt erasers on the top of their caps but it is non-toxic, don’t smell much, and extremely kid friendly. The points won’t push in if your child writes hard with it. Fabulous!
How to Use the KleenSlate
The KleenSlate can be used in numerous ways whether you decide to drill your child with spelling, reading comprehension, mathematical drills and/or graphs and much more. These can also be a blessing when driving on a long trip while it occupies the kids. They could play games on it like TicTacToe or list plates from various provinces/states or do some sort of scavenger’s hunt while watching outside (this one requires preparation as you will have to list the things to spot on the KleenSlate!).
As soon as we got ours, the kids were excited and selected their own colors.
While Jasmine was practicing her AWANA scripture with me, Jérémy asked Alexandre to write something on his KleenSlate and proceeded to encourage her.
Jasmine also wanted to do the same thing but this time giving a a sweet message… (and yes she asked me to write it! *grin*)
A few days later, I caught Dominic, age 8, drawing on one of them.
The KleenSlate is not only good for school – whether in the home or outside the family unit. I could see numerous advantages for this product like using it in business meetings, rehabilitation centers, sunday schools, and even the AWANA Quizzing Competition.
The past two years, my son Alexandre has participated to the Awana Quizzing Competition (the competition this year is today which will be his third year!) They usually have two drills – a multiple choice questions and a rapidity one. The KleenSlate products could be used in the multiple choice questions. However, it would be better to have separators between the participants so that they don’t see what their neighbors are writing on their KleenSlate. Having one slate per participant with a marker/eraser would more than likely be a bit faster than having an envelop with the multiple choices answers (usually A to D) that the child has to put back in place when done answering the question.
The KleenSlate is a fabulous product that I would recommend to anyone, whether you are a homeschooler or a teacher in a classroom or simply want to encourage the people to have fun in a meeting. This product is very versatile and it could be use in various ways. Thinking about it, it is also perfect to use as a drawing board when playing a drawing game like Pictionary for example.
The KleenSlate products can be purchased directly from their store at http://kleenslate.com/shop/.
Disclaimer: Thanks to KleenSlate for sending me the above mentioned products for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.
What a great review! The pictures tell the story and the kids are darling. I love the idea of getting these to the AWANA Quizzing Competition. Did you know you can also buy replacement surfaces for the Paddles so you don't throw them away like other white boards- just resurface or change out the surface and they are brand new!
ReplyDeleteThese are cool!!! I want one!
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