The Boogie Boards are a popular resource to use on the go in the car or plane, at the cafe or waiting for appointments.
They are sure to keep children busy!
We orginally purchased ours a few years ago for our eldest who loves drawing and added them to our range at LTT as we love them so much!
Having the Boogie Board meant we took one thing with us out and about rather than the clipboard, paper, pencils and a sharpener!
Differences between the Jot & Magic Sketch
There are two different kinds, the Jot and the Magic Sketch.
Both work in the same way but there are a few differences which we have listed below.
The Jot comes in three colours; pink, blue or grey. It is one piece with the pen that clips into the front which is super handy for travelling on the go or relaxing at home of course. It also has magnets on the back so you can pop it on the fridge to work on a vertical surface as well. When drawing with the included pen the colour is green on the black screen and you simply clear it by pushing the button.
The Magic Sketch is only available in the one colour. It works in the same way as the Jot but has a rainbow LCD display with a transparent backing (but you can put it in the case so it’s solid too). It comes with a few different pens to make different patterns/lines and also has some sheets that slide into the back for some extra learning or games. You can also remove the back and place it over anything you'd like to trace such as flashcards or your child's name.
Watch the video below for a closer look at these differences.
As well as free drawing we've also listed more ways to play with them whilst out and about if you'd like to try something new.
For a quick look watch the video below or scroll down below for more ideas and explainations!
Play Inspiration
Tic Tac Toe
Each player takes turns putting their marks (an X or an O) in empty squares. The first player to get 3 marks in a row (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally) is the winner. Once all 9 squares are full, the game is over. If no player has 3 marks in a row, the game ends in a tie.
Symmetry
Begin by drawing a line down the middle and draw on one side and your child can copy on the other. After the picture is finished swap over and copy theirs.
Finish my picture
This one is similar to the above. Simply start with drawing something like the sun and then take turns adding to the picture till it is a full scene.
Hangman
The object of Hangman is to guess the secret word before the stick figure is "hung". The first player thinks of a word in their mind and draws dashes to represent how many letters are in the word. The whole alphabet is written out below. The second player then guesses what letters they think are in the word, crossing them off the alphabet as they they go. If the letter is not in the word, the stick figure is one step closer to being hung. Gameplay ends when the word is guessed, or the player is out of guesses.
Shape or Letter Search
Fill the screen with little drawings of different shapes. Challenge your child to "Colour in all the triangles", "Put a cross in all the squares", "Add a smiley face to the circles", "Circle all the stars". Similar activities can be made up for letter and number games too!
Connect 4
Similar to Tic Tac Toe, but on a larger scale. Draw a grid 7x6 sqaures. Players choose to be X or O. Take turns drawing your symbol in the lowest possible square in a column until someone reaches four in a row either horizontally, diagonally or vertically.
Pictionary
Just like the board game, take turns silently drawing a simple picture of an object or action without using letters or numbers. Any number of other players can guess. You may make this is simple or as difficult as required. Whoever guesses correctly first gets to draw next, if not, play is passed along to the next person in the circle. You can use a timer to keep things exciting.
Dot to Dot
Draw a simple picture or shape using evenly spaced dots, letters or numbers for your child to connect in order to reveal a picture!
Word Search
For a younger child you can write a simple word on the screen (or their name) 5 or 6 times. Fill the rest of the screen in with other words. Your child then can search for and circle the chosen word! To increase the difficulty you could choose a category eg animals or fruit and write out a number of answers then fill in the rest of the space with random words, hand the board over for them to search for and circle the answers. Alternatively you can write out a traditional word search on a grid and list the answers below for them to cross off as they go.
Tally Marking
Demonstrate to your child how to tally. Then ask them to count something in their environment using the tally system. For example whilst on a road trip you could divide the screen into four and tally the the different coloured cars you pass. In a cafe you could tally the chairs, the ceiling fans, the glasses on the tables etc. Or pack dice and tally your results as you roll!
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This can be a really sweet and casual way of practicing reading and writing...and sharing the love!