My mission as a mom is to create an environment in my home for love and learning.  I’m always on the lookout for new ways to encourage learning through play.  Life is ever changing and as it changes, so must we.  Revamping the family schedule and sometimes reorganizing the home are some of the first things I think of when life situations change.

In my search for new home decorating ideas with children in mind, I ran across on an article on a blog from a fellow homeschooling mom of a large family who had transformed an entire wall into a magnet wall.  I was inspired and thought it was just the thing to put my new homemaking goals into reality.

Creating a magnetic wall is easier than it sounds.  You can find the magnetic paint a Lowes or another home improvement store.  

Materials Needed:

Magnetic paint, sold by the quart

Paint – color of your choice to cover the magnetic paint.

Paint roller with sponges and tray

Drop cloth

Painter’s masking tape

Directions:

The magnetic paint is a primer.  You’ll need to do at least 3 coats-more is better- for a good magnetic hold.  The paint is black so keep that in mind when choosing your top color as you may need to buy more to cover.  We used the color Barn wood, a pretty neutral that goes with our furniture.

Cover all the wall edges and baseboards that you don’t want painted.  Put down the drop cloth.   I use an old sheet as I get tired of paying good money for plastic that is later thrown away and that never biodegrades.  

Paint the magnetic primer.  Please note that this paint gives the wall a slight texture.  We painted half way up the wall and if you look closely you can see where it ends.  It’s not bad, but if you are perfectionist, you may not like that.

Allow to dry thoroughly in between coats.  

Paint the top color over the wall.  Allow to dry overnight before leaving magnets on the wall.  It’s okay to test them out, but as we discovered, it will pull the paint off if you leave them on and it’s not completely dried.

It’s fun to make your own magnets for the wall.  Your children can hang their artwork on the wall for all to see and they have more room than on the smaller refrigerator.  We laminated people and characters and put magnetic strips on the back for the kids to play with.  These are longer lasting than flannel board figures.