"Anyone that doesn't agree with leggings as pants can physically fight me.
And I'm going to win because I have a full range of motion due to the fact that I am wearing leggings as pants."

Friday, May 7, 2010

Nontoxic Chalk Markers for Your Whiteboard

So maybe some of you aren't really all that into chalkboards. You prefer whiteboards, maybe? Well, the chalk markers that I'm giving away work pretty well on those as well. They have a couple of perks that I think make them much better than regular dry erase markers.

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(Don't ask me what this is a drawing of. I do not know.)

First of all did I mention that they're xylene free?

Because they are.

These puppies are almost completely odorless. Which is so much better than the brain-cell killing markers we previously used on our whiteboard.

For some time now, I've discouraged the use of our whiteboard because it's right near my sewing table. And the entire room stinks for hours after the kids have drawn on it.

Blech.

So I only let them use it during the times of the year when I could actually open a window for ventilation. Because it says so right there on the dry erase marker... Use in well ventilated area. Which really makes me wonder, how many people working in offices have access to open windows? In my experience, very few.

In case you're interested, here are the health hazards of xylene (a common ingredient in regular whiteboard markers), according to OSHA...

Dizziness, excitement, drowsiness, incoordination, staggering gait, impaired reaction time, impaired short-term memory; headache; eye, nose, throat irritation; corneal vacuolization; anorexia; nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain; dryness and scaling of the skin, dermatitis; reversible liver and kidney damage after exposure to sudden high concentrations.

And while some of that does indeed sound like a good time, I think I'll just skip it and have a few gin and tonics instead.

I also like the fact that once the chalk markers have dried, they won't easily rub off on you like the dry erase markers do. But if you use a damp cloth, it comes right off.

All of which makes it the perfect time to let Joey make a little stop animation video on the white board, something she's wanted to do for some time now, but I've been hesitant about because it's such a long project. We're talking hours of drawing, erasing, drawing and erasing again and breathing fumes the entire time.

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Luckily this was created in a completely stink free environment...



and caused no brain damage-amage-amage-amage-amage-amage! what so ever. (Warning- that link takes you to an audio file. You know, in case you're at work and don't want everyone to know that you're, um, not working.)

Update- And here's the second of Joey's whiteboard animations.



She spent most of Friday making this one. Other than taking some of the pictures on the first one, I didn't help her AT ALL with either of these. She wouldn't even let me see any of this last one until it was totally done, music and all.

8 comments:

Melanie said...

You're awesome, your kids are awesome, I love the blog (and Jimi's Salsa!!). Have a great weekend and Mother's Day!

Wendy said...

Thanks, Melanie!

And you're awesome too, especially since you know the difference between you're and your. It's actually one of my pet peeves and some days it seems like no one knows the difference. So thank you for that too.

I hope you have a great weekend and Mother's Day as well.

cake said...

that second one is a beautiful thing. please congratulate her (for me) on creating such a poetic and stirring piece of art. hurray for the chalk markers! i hope we get to see more of her work.

heather jane said...

We all agree that Joey is really cool. My 7 year old wants to be an illustrator when she grows up. These markers will be so perfect for her.

So they don't rub off like chalk? So that means they don't make chalk dust? I should have some for my classroom since it also has no ventilation and I'm pretty sure the kids need all the brain cells they have left after video games and t.v.

melody said...

OMG that is so cool... my kids were mesmerized and so was I!

Karin B (Looking for Ballast) said...

I love Joey's animations! Those are terrific! :) Really fine work & please let her know how much they made me smile today.

What a great alternative to white board markers. I taught with the stinky ones for years, but never really thought about the ill health effects before. It's true, what you write about with the headaches, dizziness and nausea. I used to experience it all in those years I taught in schools that used them. Ick. I'm glad that you have suggested these as an alternative!

FinnyKnits said...

I'm officially a fan of Egg & The Cookie.

Scott said...

I'd love to try this with my son - what a nice idea. They are absolutely charming and a fantastic way to introduce young people to animation. Scott