Do you want to make a first day of school chalkboard sign for your kid’s first day? Looking for tips on how to bring that first day of school chalkboard to life? This post has a few simple tricks to make it an fun and easy experience.
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Why Make a First Day of School Chalkboard Sign
If you’re like me, the thought of adding another project to your to-do list sounds stressful. And I don’t always like to jump on the Facebook post band wagon, but the “first day of school chalkboard sign picture tradition” is something that I actually love.
A Fun First Day of School Tradition
There are few Facebook post trends that I get behind. I really got into the music album challenge one time, and I did the one where you post an old pic of yourself and compare it to a current pic. But outside of that I’m not one for the viral Facebook challenges.
But the first day of school photo tradition felt different to me. It felt like a fun and creative way to document my child’s educational milestones.
And as we were gearing up for our little toddler’s first day of school ever, I was more than excited to do a first day of school picture post.
Family Rituals
I love family rituals.
My experience working with families taught me a ton about how well rituals hold families together like glue.
And as a child, I always looked forward to the fun traditions my parents instilled, including first day of school pictures. We would line up outside of the house, dressed in our most impressive outfits, and say cheese.
Comparing those pictures year after year is still fun to this day.
And as my daughter approached school age, I knew wanted the same for my little family.
I wanted a way to mark the transition into the next school year with a special little ‘ceremony’ that celebrates our little sweetheart entering the next chapter of her life. And I wanted her to have the experience of comparing the yearly photos to see how she’s grown. 🙂
More Than a First Day of School Photo
The first day of school chalkboard sign is more than just a simple snapshot of those rockin’ first day of school outfits. The addition of the chalkboard sign kicks things up a notch.
You can include any and all little facts about your child that you want to share. Not only does this give an opportunity to be funny, punny, or silly, it gives you a chance to create a little time capsule about your child.
By adding details about their favorite things, you document your child’s interests at this point in time. Details you will likely treasure for years to come.
A Fun and Easy Project (Even if You’re Not a Crafty Mom)
I honestly had so much fun designing and creating my daughter’s first day of school chalkboard sign. And it wasn’t that time-consuming either!
If you have semi-decent handwriting and the right supplies, you can create a stunning first day of school chalkboard sign for your child in no time! Read on for my tips and tricks on how to make a first day of school chalkboard sign.
And speaking of art projects, check out my post about the best art supplies for 2 year olds, which includes lots of fun art project ideas!
How to Make a First Day of School Chalkboard Sign
Creating a first day of school chalkboard sign is really easy and a lot of fun. Here is how I went about creating a chalkboard sign for my daughter’s first day of preschool.
What You Need:
You only need a handful of supplies to get started. And I will be honest, the thing that will make or break your chalkboard sign experience is the chalkboard markers.
Choosing the right chalkboard markers will make all of the difference.
If you go with some unknown brand, you might end up tossing the chalkboard in the trash and saying ‘never again’. Bad chalkboard markers make for a terrible experience. They either drip and drop chalk paint everywhere, or they run dry and smear and scratch what you’ve already painted on. Trust me, I’ve used some bad chalk paint markers in my day and it’s awful.
And while you don’t have to take my recommendation below, I highly recommend you do because the chalk markers I used were FANTASTIC.
First Day of School Chalkboard Sign Supplies List
| Supplies | Notes |
|---|---|
| Chalkboard Sign | I got this super classy looking chalkboard sign from HBCY Creations and I love it. It comes in multiple finishes/colors. You can get it here on Amazon. (see picture below) |
| Chalk Markers | I used these incredible chalk markers from Chalkola. I highly recommend them. They work like a dream. No smearing, scratching, dripping, or drying. Seriously perfect. You can get them here on Amazon. (see picture below) |
| Paper Towels | I used one wet paper towel to wipe off mistakes and one dry paper towel to dry the area before repainting. |
| Ruler | I used a ruler to make sure the sections and lines were painted on straight. |
Chalkboard Sign from HBCY Creations
Here is the chalkboard sign that I purchased on Amazon. I LOVE it. When I made a mistake and had to wipe off some of the paint, it came off cleanly and didn’t leave a chalky mess behind. Plus, it looks super classy.
Chalk Markers from Chalkola
I used these amazing chalk markers from Chalkola. They were seriously perfect. The colors are so vibrant and the markers roll on so smoothly. Plus when you make a mistake, the chalk paint comes off easily and doesn’t leave any residue.
Chalkola sells a variety of different chalk marker sets. I used the Chalkola Chalk Markers 30 Pack and the color selection was fantastic. I seriously can’t say enough about how awesome Chalkola products are. 🙂
Prepping and Designing Your Chalkboard Sign:
Here are a few preparatory steps to get you started:
- Prep your chalkboard sign.
To begin, you should make sure your chalkboard sign is free of residue and dust. Wipe it down with a wet paper towel and dry it with another paper towel.
- Choose your layout and design.
Figure out the design you want for your chalkboard sign. I browsed these Etsy chalkboard signs for inspiration.
Decide which design elements you want to include. I chose things like pencils, apples, colorful bunting, and a simple dot pattern for the borders.
In terms of layout, I organized it so I could include my daughter’s name, school grade, date, and fun facts about her.
- Get your supplies ready.
Gather your supplies so you have them all ready. Open your chalk markers and prep them by following the directions on the box. Wet a paper towel and have a dry one handy, too.
- Get started!
I started from the top and worked by my down to avoid smearing. Don’t be afraid to jump right in. Remember, you can always wipe away your mistakes. 🙂
Tips on How to Make Your First Day of School Chalkboard Sign:
Gather all of your supplies and prep them as mentioned above.
Sketch out some of the elements and sections of your chalkboard sign. I used the white chalk marker to do most of the outlining because it gave a nice contrast to the black chalkboard.
As you can see below, I created a space for my daughter’s name and a space for her grade. I designed it so that each year I can erase the school grade and and first day of school date, and then update it for the coming year.
I did the same thing with the age section by creating a square box where I can update her age each year.
For the other sections, I decided to include her favorite color, things she loves right now, what she wants to be when she grows up, and her teacher’s name.
You can design your sections to include any information that you want to capture about your child. Other ideas include favorite food, favorite school subject, school name, etc. Browse these handmade signs on Etsy for more ideas.
As you can see, I chose white, red, and yellow as the base color scheme featured in the design layout. They felt like “school-ish” colors to me plus my daughter loves red. This base set of colors allowed me to add in accent colors for the rest.
Add in your information with a chosen set of accent colors. I used pink, green, purple, and sky blue. I used these accent colors for the bunting, my daughter’s name, her school grade, and all of the fun details about her.
And yes, when I asked her what she wants to be when she grows up, she legit said a grown-up. 😀
Adding a Shadow Effect
After you add the detailed info about your kiddo using the accent colors of your choice, then it’s time for highlights and final touches.
When you add highlights (or shadowing) to your text, you want to be consistent. Adding this 3-D effect isn’t easy for everyone, but with practice, you can definitely get the hang of it. And it really makes your sign pop!
Think about which direction you would like to pretend the light source is hitting your letters and that will help you with consistently adding the shadow/highlight effect to each letter.
As you can see below on words like “LIANA’S” and “PRESCHOOL” for example, I pretended the light was hitting them from the right. So all of the highlights in white bump out toward the left. This creates a 3-D effect.
I also added a paint pallete and a couple other little images to make it colorful.
Here is the final product, after I added in all of the highlights and final touches:
Photo Shoot with the Finished First Day of School Chalkboard Sign
After the sign was finished, I set it aside in a safe place until my daughter’s first day of preschool. When the big day came, I did a mini-photo shoot with our little sweetheart, and she had a blast.
I couldn’t be happier with the result.
Here are a few pictures from her first day of school chalkboard sign photo shoot:
Afterward, we walked her to school and no one was more excited to start preschool than our little kiddo. She waited right at the door for the teachers. When they arrived she greeted them with a happy hello!
Thank you so much for checking out my post on how to make a first day of school chalkboard sign. Hope you got some useful tips to use when making your own chalkboard sign for your child’s first day of school!
I would love to hear about your chalkboard signs in the comments below!
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