Categories: Parenting

Giant Ruler Growth Chart

What You’ll Need:
1x6x8 pine board
Stain (optional)
Black marker
Tape measure

When you live in a rental house it’s often true that you’re not allowed to put nails or screws in the walls. But if your home is your own there are no rules like that for you. You can create new things for your home, install or put them up, and not have to worry about it. So, if you have a little kid, you’ll appreciate the fact that you can make a growth chart, which isn’t just paper, that looks like a giant ruler. The marks on the ruler can be used to mark milestones in your child’s growth and you won’t have to get by with a paper and tape version. A giant ruler, used as a growth chart, will look astounding in your child’s room. The ruler, made of real wood, is a decorative element that can stay as long as you own your house.

The wood: If you are in a rental, and you want the giant ruler measuring chart, just use strips of double-sided tape (long strips), and stick the wood to the wall. To get started, purchase a piece of pine wood from a home improvement store. The cut piece should be an inch thick, eight inches wide, and six feet long. Staining the whitish wood will make it look much more like a ruler or yardstick.

Measuring: An ordinary, permanent marker is what you need to make the lines and numbers on the ruler. Instead of six inches – like a child’s ruler – make the growth chart six feet; it will be easy to measure one inch as equal to one foot. So, measure from one end of the wood, and up one foot, and use the marker to write a “1”. Don’t forget to split that, make a half-inch mark (six inches), and a quarter-inch (three inches). Write each number as a whole number but make lines to represent the fractions. Make a long line for the half-inch, and a shorter one for the quarter-inch, and so on.

Using the chart: Hang the giant ruler so that the numbers are on the left side, and the “1” is facing the floor. If you own your home, the ruler can be nailed or screwed to the wall, but otherwise, use double-sided tape. Have your child stand with his or her back to the ruler and make the height mark on the right side of the ruler. There’s plenty of room to write names – if you’re using the growth chart for more than one child – and dates, and any other information you’d like.

The giant ruler growth chart becomes an integrated part of your home, but if you use rentals, you can easily take it with you when you move. It will thrill you to watch your child grow as you chart it on the ruler, but if your child grows to over six feet tall, you’re going to need another ruler!