It took several decades but I've finally been vindicated! Did anyone else happen to see the segment on this mornings "Today" show; "
does letting your kids draw on their walls as children lead them to more successful careers as adults?" Well, my friends, guess what I used to do when I was left alone in my bedroom (don't let your minds go to the gutter, folks)? Actually, the first day I met my step-sister, Elizabeth, I took her by the hand, led her down our hallway and into my bedroom where I threw her against the wall and TRACED HER with a crayon! My mother has explained her reasons for allowing this creative expression as an outlet for emotional escapism (our father died when I was three). Mind you, I was not allowed to run freely around the house with crayons in hand, my mother dedicated one wall in my bedroom to my life-sized coloring book, and I'll never forget that fun memory born out of a rather dark period. A few days ago I wrote about tinting chalkboard paint for a reminder board in a pantry, so why not do the same thing in your kids room (or your home office). Forget pesty post-its that eventually fall off the wall and end up on the sole of your shoe, or those annoying push-pin boards that wind up looking like a jumbled, disorganized mess. In an office I recently designed, the employees all complained about scheduling (when were important staff meetings, who was on vacation when, etc.). So, I painted a colorful square behind the office managers desk with chalkboard paint and told her to do whatever she wanted to with it..change it daily with quotes, add weekly updates every Monday or put the calendar for the month on it so anyone walking through the front door will know where they are headed when they walk out. Last month the office manager called me to say she'd applied the same design technique at home in her kids play room and it had changed the kids schedule at home for the better...if they had a special day coming up at school or needed supplies, they wrote it on the wall and learned to manage organizational skills while having fun. So sometimes, you see, the writing literally is on the wall!
