Dry Erase Activity Book for Kids

 Free printable dry erase activity book for kids…perfect for home, on the go, church, in the car, and anywhere!  

I don’t know about you, but I am always looking for something to keep my kids quiet and occupied during church,  while traveling, and any other time we have to wait anywhere for any length of time.  I’ve got some busy kiddos, and I’m sure the people in the church pews in back and in front of us appreciate the effort.  :)

Dry Erase Activity Book | oldsaltfarm.com

DIY DRY ERASE ACTIVITY BOOK

They fit easily in a diaper bag, purse, or church bag.  I created half sheets with activity and coloring pages, then laminated them, and used book rings to hold them together. I LOVE LOVE how they turned out, and my kids are crazy over them. It’s a hit!

These would also make super fun gifts for any child–birthday, Christmas, or just because! Add learning worksheets, word searches, coloring pages, church-oriented pages, and more.  These are easy to personalize for any age, and a great way to keep kids busy and entertained. I love that they can be used over and over again, and easily cleaned up.

Here’s how I did it!

DRY ERASE ACTIVITY BOOK SUPPLIES

– dry erase activity book pdf file (download below)

-white cardstock (not textured)

-laminator (or access to a store that does laminating, i.e. Staples or Office Max)

-paper trimmer

-scissors

-book rings (3 per book)

-ribbon

DRY ERASE ACTIVITY BOOK DIRECTIONS

Download the files below and print on to white cardstock.

Using your paper trimmer, cut each piece of cardstock in half, separating the two images.  If you cut them exactly in half, it would make them 5.5 inches wide.  I took off an extra 16th of an inch from the side that was originally in the middle of the whole paper (in the example above, between the bee and the apple).  I did this so the two halves would easily fit in my 8.5 x 11 lamination sheet, plus leaving a little for a border in between them.

Time to laminate!  I have to say, my laminator (affiliate link) is one of my most favorite possessions, and absolutely worth the $25 it cost!!  This is the one I have:

I bought it on amazon.com, and it has been one of the best investments I’ve made.  If you do a lot of laminating, or would like to, you may want to consider getting one of your own.  I can guarantee I would have spent a lot more paying per project to get things laminated!

I wanted to have activities on each side of the pages in my book, so I put two half sheets back to back together in my laminating sheet.  I did that twice, so that I was actually able to fit 4 half sheets total on each page.  I made sure to put the pages back-to-back that I wanted together in my book, because once they’re together, there’s no changing things, lol! For example, with the alphabet, I had A and B together, C and D together, and so on.  I also grouped all the coloring pages together, learning pages together (and into sub-categories, like colors together, shapes together, money together, etc.) and church pages together.  I laid them out in groups of two ahead of time, just to make sure it was the way I wanted it.

Here are my sheets laminated–with two just like it on the back:

If you take yours in to get laminated, follow the same procedure:  Trim them as outlined above, and direct the store to laminate them back-to-back.  Laminating them like this will not only save you money, but will allow you to fit more pages in your book without it getting to thick. If you want specific pages together, make sure you paper clip them together, and let them know.

Take your scissors and cut the laminated pages in half!  Organize them as you want them in your book(s).  I decided to make three books for a couple of reasons–first, with over 100 images, I had 50 sheets, and that was too fat for one book.  It also means that more than one child can be using one, which is essential at our house.  :)

Once they are organized how you want them to be, use your hole punch to punch three holes down the side of each page.  To punch in the same spot on each page, and ensure even spacing, this works wonders:  punch your first page, then use it as a guide for each page after that.  Just lay the punched page on top of the un-punched page, and punch!

 Slide the pages onto book rings, then add a little ribbon for fun!  I can never resist ribbon, lol.

 Now you’re ready to use them!!!  Get ready for some excited kids!  I found the dry erase crayons at Walmart for around $4.  They are washable, and come with a cloth to clean your pages.  It works okay, but I’ve found that a baby wipe is perfect, removes all traces, and I always have one in my bag or car. ENJOY!!!

Dry Erase Activity Book | oldsaltfarm.com

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67 Comments

  1. Wow! SO love this idea! Didn’t know there was such a thing as dry erase crayons! I’m getting some of these ASAP! Thank you for posting!

  2. I was so excited to see my name on your blog!
    thanks for the shout out…yours turned out so great! May have to make a few changes, though my kids do still love them!!! I like the idea of them being smaller!

    1. You are so welcome! It is a BRILLIANT idea, and I didn’t know about dry erase crayons until know! Thanks for letting them world know, lol!

  3. Dry erase crayons!? Awesome! I definitely need to make a few of these for my kiddos, I’m thinking Sacrament meeting might be a little quieter:) Thanks for the inspiration!

  4. First of all, thank you for posting this. What a wonderful idea! Secondly, dry-erase crayons?!? What the heck? Uh-MAZE-ing! Lastly, pinned ya.

  5. These are super cute! I just got dry erase crayons from a friend of mine for watching her kiddos – and I honestly didn’t know what to do with them LOL…now I do! Good thing I have the same laminator, I love it too! Thanks for tweaking and making it smaller!

  6. I love this idea, too! Thank you for posting.
    I did a binder with clear plastic sheet protectors . Then you can change out the printables.

    1. Yes–sheet protectors are definitely a great idea, and have advantages for sure!

  7. This is a great idea. Can’t wait to make some for my boys. I also had no idea a laminator was that affordable. I’ve been thinking about one for a while. Thanks for the great ideas!

    1. Yes, super affordable! If you belong to Sam’s Club (and probably Costco as well), you can get a pack of 200 laminating sheets for only $20. Great deal. If not, you can buy them on amazon, or save coupons and get them at staples, office max, etc. XO

  8. I was wondering if the plastic sheet protectors would work for this project. Do you know what I mean? The heavy sheets that open at the top to protect valuable sheets. If that would work then you could change the images / project sheets when ever you wanted too. I don’t know if I will ever make it back to this page, I tend to loose great pages even when Pined, so email me on if you think this would work. Thank you!

    1. The original link I posted actually used the sheet protectors in a binder. I think both ways have advantages, and it just depends on what your priorities and needs are. I think it would be great to be able to switch out different pages, but for my kids, I don’t think the sheet protectors would hold up too long, which is why I tried this different method. I also wanted them to be smaller than a full sheet, so that they would be more portable. We use them mostly away from home, not at home.

      So, to make a long story short, lol, you could definitely use sheet protectors!!! Both ways work!!! :)

  9. That’s an awesome idea! I think I need to buy myself a laminator now, my kids are always pulling papers out of the sheet protectors. Thanks for sharing!

  10. I love this idea! Thanks for explaining it so well. I have a laminator and it is one of my favorite things too:)

    1. You are so welcome! Happy to know someone else ♥’s their laminator as much I as do. :) XO

  11. Hi Kierste,

    I am in love with your books! Everything in them looks fantastic. Is there anyway you can share the file to your books all ready to be printed? I want to make a bunch of them for my kids, and my nieces. It would save me a ton of time, and I’ve looked through some of the sites and my computer doesn’t seem to be copying things the way it should.

    Please help!
    Megan

  12. Kierste, I just found this on Pinterest and am so excited. Going to make the files right now and pick up some cardstock tonight so I can put my printer and laminator to work. I have five girls, four of them are young enough that they will enjoy these very much. Maybe I can come put with some quiz ones for my teen!!

    1. Yay!! I’m so glad you found me, and I think your girls are going to love them! If you’re interested if my files–so you can just print them–let me know!! Thanks so much for stopping by!!

  13. Kierste, love your blog. Was wondering if I could get the files you printed for your books. Their super cute!
    Thanks :)

    1. Thanks so much for stopping by and saying hello!! I sent the files to your e-mail address–let me know if you don’t get them!!! xoxo

  14. Kierste, you have the cutest stuff! I had no clue I could get a laminator for that cheap! I’m always looking to laminate projects. Thank you!! Could you email me the files?

    1. Thank you so much!! Yes–laminators are so reasonable, and I use it all the time! The files are actually in the post–toward the bottom, just click on the link! xoxo

  15. I absolutely loved this idea! So I featured this on my blog and shared with my readers how well the activity books worked for me. Thanks for the inspiration and the free printables. http://howlinghorn.blogspot.com/2014/01/dry-erase-activity-books_27.html

  16. What a great idea! I can’t wait to try this out. Can you tell me how many sheets you ended up using? As you mention, there are so many great printables it is hard to choose. I have a 3 yr old as well….do you happen to notice what her interest level was given the number of pages you used? Any lessons learned about that project?

    Great post, great blog. Ana

    1. I made three different books, and I think I used about 50 sheets of cardstock–with two to a page. I’ve had good success with the number of pages, because it was intended for times when they had to sit still for a while–at church, in the car, waiting for an appointment, etc. and I wanted them to last a little while. I made three different books, and I’m so glad that I did that–it gives varying choices, and they can choose which one they want. Make sure you always carry baby wipes to erase the dry erase crayons–the rag that comes with it is hard for kids to use, but the wipes take it right off! Have fun!! It’s one of my kids’ favorites!! xoxo

  17. Hi Kierste,
    Thank you so much for this. I have some ok ideas in my brains but am horrible at execution. I’m only a couple of steps in so far, but with all your clear instructions, I reckon this is going to be a success!
    Lets hope the plane trip is just as good…
    Thanks,
    Naomi

  18. Would you be willing to share your files with me? I’m working on making educational books for my children and this would save a lot of time! Thank you for the awesome idea! I love it and am so excited to make some for my little ones!

  19. I have been looking for some ideas for Christmas gifts for my grandchildren and found your idea on Pinterest. How fun! If wouldn’t mind, please email me your files as well. No need to reinvent the wheel! Thanks!

    1. Sure! I just switched computers, so I’ll need to get on my other computer to get the files—will you e-mail me to remind me? simplykierste@yahoo.com

      So glad you found me!!! xoxo

    2. Claudia,

      I realized that they are already in the post, at the bottom! The dry erase books, and the cover! I momentarily forgot, because I added them at a later time because of requests. xoxo

  20. I am so wanting to make these for my grandkids but when i downloaded the files that you have the whole picture is not on the paper. Am I doing something wrong or is there a way to make them work?
    Thanks

  21. Thank you thank you thank you!!! We are headed on a ten hour road trip with our boys and I am so excited to have found these!! Going to work on this today!!!

  22. I LOVE this idea!! Would you be willing to email your files as well? Such a fun way to keep the kids busy!

  23. This idea is fabulous and your precise directions are great too! My grandkids are too young right now…but that will change all too quickly! And I know both sets of parents will LOVE this idea as they get a bit older!!! I am pinning for now for later! Thank you for your fabulous idea and directions!

    1. Debbie, you are SO welcome! I’m so glad you love it, and I’m excited for you to give them to your grandchildren! xoxo

  24. hi..
    Thanks for sharing this.
    love it!
    But i cant download the files.
    Is there any other way to have it?

    1. Hi, Brooklyn! I wish I could say yes, but right now I’m just swamped. Thank you for letting me know there’s interest…possibly in the future?

  25. Please! Please! Please! Can you email me the file for the books. I’m in charge of our wards super Saturday and these are so cute.

    1. P.S. I’m only asking because the links wouldn’t work. Brought up a blank page with no pictures.

  26. Oh my goodness I am so glad I found these right before an 8 hour car ride with 2 year old twins! Thank you for all the details!! :)

  27. This is a lovely idea and something I’d like to use for my 5 year old during church! I used the links in your post but opening in Microsoft word has all of the margins off and most of the pictures chopped. I wonder, do you have a PDF of this booklet you could email me?

    Thanks!

    1. Hi, Emily! Will you try again? I switched them over to pdf files, so that problem should be eliminated. Thanks for letting me know! I posted these quite a few years ago, so I appreciate knowing about the issue. xo

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