There are many uses for a large format dry erase whiteboard and one of the most commonly requested features is a calendar. If you are in the market for a large dry erase whiteboard calendar you have a few choices to make.
- How large of a white board do you need?
- Does it need to be portable or will it stay in one place?
- Will you buy the calendar already affixed to the whiteboard?
- Or, are you going to make the calendar yourself on a regular dry erase whiteboard?
Pre Made Dry Erase Whiteboard Calendar
If you are going to go the pre made route and purchase or buy a dry erase whiteboard calendar directly, there are still some options that you can choose from:
- Do you want a magnetic surface?
- Do you want different colors or sectioned off areas for uses besides a calendar (cork, etc)?
When purchasing the board you can expect to pay a small (or sometimes large) premium for the added benefit of the calendar. Your other option is to go the “Do It Yourself” route and buy or make a whiteboard and then make it into a calendar yourself. If you are making your own whiteboard you can get more information on the types and process on our Make A Whiteboard page.
DIY Dry Erase Whiteboard Calendar
If you are making your own whiteboard calendar then this portion assumes that you have already purchased (Amazon.com has many types) or made your whiteboard. If you need to make your own whiteboard, see our reference here.
Once you have a whiteboard and are ready to make it into a calendar, follow these steps. Keep in mind that your particular format may vary depending on size, number of days/weeks/months that you incorporate into your calendar, and your style. The instructions below assume you are going to use the board as a monthly calendar set up to have individual boxes for each day.
- Remove any protective covering or packaging material from your whiteboard, if applicable.
- Make sure you have a ruler or other instrument for guiding straight lines long enough to cross your white board.
- If you want to have space at the top or bottom of your board for writing the month or general notes, mark off a few inches (at least 4) on each side and draw a line across using a pencil and your ruler.
- In the remaining area, measure 7 equal columns and 5 equal rows. Mark these lines with your pencil and ruler. Be careful not to make dark marks in the open areas to be used for notes and month.
- Use either a black permanent marker or a dark tape (electrical tape works well) to mark off the lines that you have drawn with the pencil and ruler.
- If desired, you can make small boxes or circles in the corners of all of the boxes. In these you can write the number of the day for each month.
- Additionally, you can place a piece of tape, or mark with a permanent marker, a horizontal line at the top and center of your whiteboard as an area to write the month.
That’s all there is to it! If you want to make a weekly calendar, a yearly calendar, or some other setup, all you need to do is figure out how many boxes you need and then tape or mark it off accordingly.
For example:
1 year = 12 months
1 month = 31 days (maximum)
So, if you wanted a full year on a large dry erase whiteboard you would need 12 large boxes with at least 31 smaller boxes inside of each. That is why the above instructions had 7 columns and 5 rows (7 x 5 = 35, enough days to fit in any month of the year in a square).