chalks in the play house yay or nay

[mushpea]

I have a playhouse in the garden which I want to put a kids desk with chalks and blackboard in for them to draw on when they want, I dont have any walkers who put things in their mouths at the moment and the babies I will supervise in the playhouse. my problem is with the older children because they spit on the wiping cloth and lick the chalks! they are old enough to know better but still take no notice of me so they have been banned from using chalks indoors, now all children are allowed outside and in the playhouse but I wont always be able to see them if they are in there so I was thinking of removing the chalks for the 2 hour after school period but then I thought thats also unfair on the other children so what would you do? I coudl ban them from the playhouse completely and the way they behave I can see this happening anyway cause I dont seem to be able to trust them when they are out of sight but didnt want to do this if they do play nicely.
shoudl i just put the chalks away in the eveings? or can anyone think of any other soloution

[watgem]

have chalks in the playhouse and include a pack of cheap wipes for them to clean the board with, they like chalking on the newly cleaned board as it makes the chalk brighter,not sure how you could get them out of the habit of spitting, though wet wipes would take the need to away. Or perhaps a proper chalk board rubber might help?I think they do them in ELCxxx

[Ripeberry]

My 2yr old mindees like to use wet wipes for the chalk board. They like to make it as clean as possible before scribbling all over it then starting again with the cleaning :D

[mushpea]

my littlies love the chalks and wiping it all off too which is why I thought I would leave them out but the older one has sensory issues and part of that is mouthing or licking things which, when stressed, he cant help doing but normally he can but I just think its horrible for the others to play with chalks he's licked, like the idea of the wet wipes, its just a sponge at the moment which is probably why they feel the need to lick it to make it wet enough to clean I suppose.

[cathtee]

My 2yr old mindees like to use wet wipes for the chalk board. They like to make it as clean as possible before scribbling all over it then starting again with the cleaning :D

my lo's like to use wipes to clean my patio door!!! makes lovely patterns :( I give up

[kel1983]

my lo's like to use wipes to clean my patio door!!! makes lovely patterns :( I give up

I have lo who does this. Lovely smears across the windows :)

As for chalks I would maybe warn them that they will have to be used outside the playhouse if they cannot use them nicely. We have a chalk rubber as mentioned above and they all love applying lots of chalk to the board and then rubbing it out. I personally have a phobia of chalks. Cannot bear to touch them and hate the mess they make when trod into the patio or decking. I have learnt to relax on the mess now though as I know it simply washes away but if they drop the chalks all over the floor I can't help them pick them up. Makes me sweat just thinking about it. :s

[Chimps Childminding]

my lo's like to use wipes to clean my patio door!!! makes lovely patterns :( I give up

Oooohhh I know that feeling - usually just after I've spent hours cleaning it :angry:

[catminder]

My mindees enjoy cleaning the chalk board with wet wipes as much as they enjoy chalking!
X Alison

[sarah707]

Can the child with sensory needs have their own colour chalk to lick kept in a special place - or will they forget when the stressful time comes and just stick any in their mouth??

I find it really hard when older children lick and chew toys because they do so much damage - i would be asking parents to come in for a chat and suggesting alternative ways to handle their stress - fiddle balls in the pocket can work well.

Hth :D

[kim-d]

I would use wipes or a fresh damp cloth x

[watgem]

I have one that lecks/mouths everything too and have to have separate toys/sensory bowls etc for them due to the hygiene issues, which seems a shame really because of the whole sharing/turntaking experiences they are missing out, I like Sarah's idea think I will look into that

[mushpea]

he would forget and just eat anything, I did half some toys like car tracks, army men, lego so he had his own pile of toys to go to when he needed time alone but the others still had toys the same to play with which did work but he still mouthed the other things. He dosent do it all the time but when he dose lick and i tell him not to he then grins and carrys on so to me its somthing he can use to be annoying as much as its a sensory issue.