Scrap Wood Growth Chart

Kids grow up startlingly fast.  Why not mark their vertical progress with a permanent record of their heights each year?  When I saw Shannon's wooden growth chart, I knew it would be fun to make a tricolor version for my three kids.  We happened to have some long wood molding scraps that I saved from a former door frame.  I ordered some free liquid paint samples and bought a bottle of acrylic paint.  Voila!  A new back-to-school autumn tradition is birthed.

Materials used:

• 6' long wooden plank or trim
• paint (number of colors should equal number of kids)
• paintbrushes
• permanent marker or pencil
• newspapers or drop cloth
• tape measure (to measure how tall the marked heights are)
• sandpape
• Masking tape (optional)

First, select the wood from the scrap pile and saw off uneven ends.

Then sand old paint and wipe clean with a damp towel.

Next, add a fresh base coat of paint.

Allow paint to dry thoroughly.

Lift up to prevent the painted board from sticking to the surface below.

I planned to paint stripes on one side, but chose an easier way.

So I painted three sides, with a different color for each child.

In the months between when I devised my plan and completed it, each child probably grew an inch or two. But now (at last!) we possess a physical reminder to celebrate each one's growth "in wisdom and stature."  After the paint dried, my kids practiced their measuring skills to see how tall they were.  We labeled the date along with each height recorded.  What's nice about this scrap wood growth chart is that it is portable, so we can easily take it with us when we move.

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