Yay for chalk board paint and my graffiti artists! What's on hand + chalkboard paint

Like most children, my girls love to draw. In our cul de sac, we have a bucket of sidewalk chalk on our patio available for use by all the kids. I love chalk because it rinses out easily, is easy to use, and is friendly to ages 2 and up. Also, since Iz turned out to be a natural vandal, chalk has been a good alternative to tying her hands behind her back and keeping all writing utensils far out of reach (I know there are moms who accomplish this, but in this house, that's just not happening soon...). I purchased chalk board paint at the base craft store (discounted 20% as part of a promotion) several months ago, but never bought the large piece of plywood to mount to the walls as I had originally planned. Oh well, it was another project for the future. Now, it is the rainy season. Carrying a large piece of plywood and drawing out doors are out of the question. Well, I thought, Let's look around and see what we can do about this. My walls are concrete and plaster and too lumpy for chalk boards... But...

These things did turn up.

I did a small project not too long ago that I purchased a scrap of MDF for. I just needed it temporarily (I needed something sturdier than cardboard and this cost ¥68 -less than $1). I let the kids play with it as a ramp for cars, or a wall for doll "houses". I also came across this puzzle missing most of the pieces. The pieces we did recover have been promoted to drawing templates, but this piece of wood of was left without a purpose.

So, yesterday while Dad took the kids bowling, I painted. And today, we have two portable chalk boards, and plenty of paint left over for the large project I hope to complete on the next sunny day.

I also considered painting closet doors with squares of chalkboard paint. However, we are essentially renters, and will have to repaint to the original color when we move (and that will not be too long from now). I also considered getting a large appliance sized cardboard box and using the chalk board paint on it (or a large piece of it), but that would be more cumbersome, in the wind and rain, than the piece of plywood -though free- and probably nowhere near as durable. These girls tend to be hard on their toys. Mounted to the wall, however, this is sounding like a good idea...

Other ideas: painting the inside of cabinets with chalk board paint, painting their own furniture with it... However, the furniture they have that I might consider painting (the other pieces are pretty nice and will age well with them) are laminate. (Which means sanding and prep before painting.)

I am taking a tip from Martha and painting squares of chalk board onto some of my storage items. I can write "felt" or "beads" and it will keep me from opening every sealed box, also, it's easily wiped off and changed. I am testing a few items with this idea.