Monday, June 2, 2014

Picket Fence Display Board


A while ago my friend asked me how I display visuals to teach my children who are visual learners, around the home.  It was a good question, that to be honest, I hadn’t thought a lot about previously.  As a teacher, I loved to study and apply different learning styles, so it made sense that I should do the same in my own home, I just hadn’t given it much thought since my kids are still little.  My oldest is a very auditory learner so it’s been easy there.  However, I can tell already that my younger daughter is going to be more of a visual learner, so it was a question that got the wheels churning in my head.  I always have visuals when I teach lessons whether they are academic, moral, or spiritual, but I never really thought about putting them up for review during the week or month.  
For birthdays in our family we always string up a ribbon with paper clips and hang pictures on it of that person over the years, so I thought I could do that to display visuals from lessons as well.  However, as I did, I decided I wanted something a little more.  Then I was out shopping at Real Deals where they were clearancing a bunch of their inventory.  I saw a white picket fence that was part of a display that caught my eye, and an idea was born!  I’m a sucker for symbolism in any way I can find it (I even had yellow flowers with red tips at my wedding to symbolize friendship growing into love!).  So, I thought ‘what if I used the concept of the white picket fence (sign of the American dream and “perfect” home) as my way to display visuals from my Family Home Evening, Mommy School, Joy School, and Church lessons?’  The more I thought about it, the more excited I got!


So, for Mother’s Day my husband got to work on creating my picket fence and I’m happy to say that it’s finally complete!  I told him once it was finally on the wall that we were now officially a happy family, since you have to have a white picket fence to become that right?!  I love it!  I will also be using it to do holiday displays and pictures of our family, and it will be our new birthday board to show off pictures of the birthday person!  My husband couldn’t help but laugh at how giddy I was about it! 
It cost less than $15 at Home Depot to do it all!!! Here's what you need if you want to make your own:
*7 fence posts 
        (We bought 9/16X3-3/8X41-1/2 in. cedar)
*2 back pieces (fence slats)
        (Buy one and cut it in half--54 in. long)
        (We bought 5/8"X5-1/2"X6')
*1 1/8" Phillips Bugle Head self drilling screws
        (Part #50254 at Home Depot)
*Screws to attach to your studs in the drywall or use anchors if not attaching to studs
*21 Clothespins (You can choose to space these however you like, I staggered mine but didn't really measure this part--just put them on the way I liked them!)
*Nail gun & small nails with wood glue to attach clothespins, or you can use a hot glue gun if you'd rather.
*Slightly off white paint (I did about three coats).  If you want to make it look a little more rustic you can paint it black or brown first and then white, then sand parts here and there to give it more of an antiqued look.  Or go for a fun different color like red or sage!  I debated but opted for the white not only for symbolism, but someday I want to paint the wall behind it a fun color so it really pops out!

To assemble the back pieces, measure 13 in. down from the top of your fence posts and 10 in. up from the bottom if you want your back slats spaced like mine.  The slats are spaced 5 in. apart.

Let me know if you have any questions about how we made it and please send me a note or even a picture if you make your own!  I'd love to see it!

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2 comments:

  1. Such a darling idea! I really love it :-)

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  2. A little black paint on the frame, a little weaving and staple gunning, and I got this: aluminum gates

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