This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walmart Photo. All opinions are 100% mine.
We have all been a part of some sort of quarantine, the past few months. I bet you aren’t too far from feeling the same as myself and my family. We feel the pressure to stay healthy, are trying to keep work and school organized, and are trying to pay attention to our mental health while having fun. I’ve partnered with Walmart Photo to bring you three fun things to do at home that can help with all of those pressures. No matter what your role is in life, these things are relatable to all…kids, parents, families, single folks, and your neighbor and can be created with Walmart Photo.
1. Kanban Board
What the heck is a kanban board? A kanban board is a visual board that depicts things to do at various stages of a process using cards to represent items and columns to represent each stage of the process.
I use kanban boards professionally as a designer and started using a kanban board with my kids a few months back. We use the board to track daily things that the kids can do. We have tried our kanban board on a large wall in our dining room and on the refrigerator, I recommend a place that has easy access and is easy to view from afar.
Overall, the kanban board has been very successful for us. After a long day, Reese (our son) said, “I got all of these things done (pointing to the board)!! This is fun Mom!”. This made me smile and I knew our kids could be accountable for the things they wanted to do during the day.
How to Use a Kanban Board?
The process of using the kanban board is very simple: create a card, add it to the board, and move the card from one column to the next.
Both of our kids really love moving the cards (sticky notes, in our case), from one column to the next. We used three different colored stickies, e.g. green for both kids, blue for Reese (our son), and pink for Nellie (our daughter). The cards can be anything you want them to be, e.g. chores, reading, school work, help mom or dad, play a board game, go for a walk, play outside, arts and craft projects or even feed the birds. I recommend using 5-10 cards per person, you don’t want too many cards which can be hard to follow.
Visually, the board is quick to scan and can be used for not only adults and kids but toddlers. If you have a child that can’t read, you could print out pictures of things that interest them, e.g. a dinosaur making their bed. Be creative!
Our columns include: “things to do”, “doing”, and “done”. It’s very important to keep in mind that you should only have one or two cards at a time within the “doing” column. The process should be fun and not overwhelming.
How to Create a Kanban Board?
Creating a Kanban board is fairly simple, gather your supplies, download my free kanban board design, and upload my design to Walmart Photo and print. Once you have all supplies, set up your board in any space in your home, office, really any location that works for you!
Supplies You Need
- sticky notes (multiple colors for different types of cards)
- a marker or pen to write on your card (we used a permanent marker)
- wall hanging supplies, e.g. magnetic tape (for your fridge), removable adhesive dots or clips (for your wall)
- washi tape (for decoration)
- a blank kanban board with columns (we printed two-different sized posters at Walmart Photo)
How to Print a Kanban Board at Walmart Photo?
My overall experience at Walmart Photo has been really good. First off, the quality of their products are really nice and I value that! Second, printing items on their site is really easy to do. To get your start off right, I’ve designed a blank kanban board for you, download the file here.
Quick steps to print your Kanban board:
- Download my kanban board design
- Navigate to Walmart Photo’s poster webpage and select the size and paper type. I printed off two sizes 12×18 Premium Metallic Poster and 24×36 Poster.
- Upload my kanban board design which is an image
- Select shipping type: same-day pickup, home delivery, or pickup in 5-days. Many products are available for same-day pickup!
- Purchase the item
Setting up your Kanban Board
Once you have all of your supplies, choose a place to hang your board. The board should be easily accessible. I printed two sized posters, the 24×36 Poster in our dining room was hung by using removable adhesive dots, though you could also use removable wall clips. The 12×18 Premium Metallic Poster has a laminated feel and is hung on our refrigerator by adhering magnetic tape.
I took my multi-colored sticky notes and hand wrote the cards for each kid.
Once all cards were written, I placed the cards on the “things to do” column.
Have fun creating your kanban board. The board can not only be used during quarantine but great for summer, holiday break, or anytime of the year. If you decide to create a board, I’d love to hear about your experience.
2. Easel Calendars for Home or Work
Personalize your workspace at home or in the office with a 5×7 Easel Calendar with a stand! A perfect and personal way to keep track of your busy schedule. Upload your favorite images printed on heavy cardstock with an eggshell finish and wooden stand for clean display. Includes six double-sided cards and one stand. You can also select what month you want the 12 month calendar to start at.
For the past two years, I have purchased easel calendars, one for home and one for my office at work. I created both the portrait option and the landscape option. I truly like both and my choice of calendar layout would depend on the space or placement of the calendar.
How to Create an Easel Calendar with Walmart Photo
- Select from Walmart Photo’s easel calendar options
- Select starting month
- Upload your images easily by linking to your Google photos, social media accounts, or upload from your computer.
- Select shipping type (Please note, this calendar style isn’t available for same-day pickup, but there are plenty of beautiful same-day calendar options if you’re in more of a hurry.)
- Purchase calendar
These easel calendars are not only perfect for yourself, but your favorite teacher or grandparent. Include special images from the past year to bring joy while looking back on the year.
3. Postcards for Your Pen Pals
Let’s get back to the basics of writing letters and sending them via postal mail. During quarantine our kids have written notes back and forth to friends, teachers, and family. They look forward to putting a smile on someone’s face and are excited when they receive a letter in return.
I’ve created two free printable card designs that can be used to upload and print off postcards and cards at Walmart Photo.
How to Create a Postcard with Walmart Photo
- Download design #1 or design #2
- Navigate to Walmart Photo and create a postcard or card
- Select the size of your postcard or card
- Upload one of my designs, design #1 or design #2
- Select shipping type: same-day pickup, home delivery, or pickup in 5-days. Not all items are available for same-day pickup. Shipping options vary by item.
- Purchase the cards
What I purchased
There are various card options though I recommend a few that I printed off:
- folded photo greeting card
- 5×7 round photo cardstock 110 lb.
- 4.25×6 custom photo postcard
- 5×7 custom photo postcard
What I discovered is that all are truly amazing paper and print quality. My favorite by far was the 5×7 round photo cardstock 110 lb. I love the feel of the paper and that there is an option to create a card with rounded corners.
Reese wanted to send a postcard to my 92 year old great-grandma. We know this will bring a smile to her face and also teaches Reese the experience around what having a pen pal is.
The kids and I had a fun time creating all of these ideas for you. If you are looking for something fun that helps to relieve those daily pressures of life, give a kanban board a try to help life run a little more smoothly or if you want a smaller size calendar to track dates, check out the easel calendars. And lastly, who doesn’t love receiving mail from a friend? I find more happiness from a letter than from an online purchase which is huge for me!
If you decide to create any of these items, let me know. I’d love to hear what you created and used them for!
The gorgeous photography was created by Kara Petta Photography.