How to Build a Wooden Customized Child's Growth Chart
A growth chart is a wonderful tool for measuring your child's physical development. With a little creativity and some simple materials, you can quickly make a wooden growth chart that's perfect for mapping your child's gains. Although they usually look like giant rulers, you can choose any design you want for your growth chart--as long as you have the carpentry savvy to build it.
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Things You'll Need
- Plywood
- Handheld circular saw
- Paint
- Black permanent marker
- Pencil
- Number stencils
- Ruler or yardstick
Instructions
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Purchase a medium-sized piece of plywood or other thin wood from your local home improvement store. Plywood is the best material because it's relatively cheap and easy to cut.
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Cut a ruler-shaped rectangle out of the plywood using either a table saw or a handheld circular saw. In general, the ruler should be at least 5 feet tall. If you want to track your child's growth through puberty, bump it up to 6 feet.
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Sand the front of the plywood sheet so it's even and smooth. If you're using a higher-quality wood this may be unnecessary.
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Give the ruler a thick coat of base-layer paint. Choose classic yellow, or go with a more adventurous color.
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Allow the paint to dry, and then apply a second coat. This gives the chart a cleaner look and helps cover imperfections in the wood.
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String a measuring tape down the left side of the plywood, then mark inches and feet using a pencil.
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Use a ruler or other firm straight-edge to create dashes on the ruler's edge. Thick, black markers work well, but paint looks a bit classier and offers great durability.
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Draw the numbers on the ruler using a stencil. If you've got neat handwriting you can also draw them freehand.
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