I leave blank paper and coloring book pages up on this easel for my 3 year old son to color whenever he wants. He's had a lot of fun drawing pictures from the stories that we read to him and coloring them in. This week we drew a crocodile (from Peter Pan) and he filled in the scales. The easel is well-made and takes about an hour to assemble.

Santa brought this to my daughter a couple of years ago and she loved it! We are saving it for our next little one. It is made very well and is worth every penny!

I gave this to my friend's daughter for her 6th birthday and she absolutely fell in love with it. She's been using it every day - mostly to play teacher and to learn spelling and math. They haven't started using the paint set yet but I suspect she'll love that too!

This easel is VERY sturdy and well worth the money. Alittle too tall for my toddler but she'll grow into it

I bought this easel for our toddler, who is 20 months old and nearly 3 feet tall. She's drawing on it right now with crayons, and is absolutely in love with it! The lowest height setting is perfect for her; the footprint is about 2' by 2' when assembled, which was bigger than I thought it would be. It stands about 4.5 feet tall. Also, it takes about a half hour to put together, but once assembled it's pretty straightforward. I wish the wood on it was a little less rough on the corners, but I don't think she'll be getting any splinters from it. All in all, a great easel for $35.

My husband and I are big fans of pretty much everything Melissa and Doug for our son. This toy is to be a Christmas gift, but I actually saw it in use at a friend's home. She has had it for several children now and it looks just as good as it did. I feel confident that our son will enjoy it for years to come as well as his new sibling to share!

I bought the Melissa and Doug Deluxe standing easel for my preschool classroom. I have been very pleased with it so far. It seems to be durable and has taken a lot of bumping and moving around well. What I like most about it is that both the dry erase board and the chalkboard wipe off completely clean. There is never marker or chalk residue left over. Putting the easel together was also very easy. The only thing I don't like about this easel is that folding it flat is sort of a long process since I have to undo screws in order to get it to fold closed. Then once it is closed the two trays don't make it very compact. Besides that though, I have been very pleased with this product.

Pros - height adjustable, two kids can use it at once, easy to assemble, relatively inexpensive
Cons - wood is cheap and unfinished (I've gotten splinters and had to sand parts to avoid getting more), dry-erase board came damaged and still have yet to receive the replacement that Melissa&Doug customer service said was on it's way.
Overall - this is great if you can get it at a cheap price and need to use both sides at once. We keep it in the garage and use it on the driveway for painting only (never have used the dry-erase or chalkboard features). If I were getting it for inside of my house I would go for a higher end product.

My son received this easel for his 2nd birthday and he LOVES it - especially the chalkboard side (which works very well).

The easel is very well constructed out of quality materials like all of the Melissa and Doug products we have purchased to date.

We also have the Easel Companion Set that is made to compliment this easel and all the products in it are high quality.

I would highly recommend this easel to others.

Love the shelves that hold the paint. Daughter uses this often. For the money, I don't think you can beat this easel.

I bought the Melissa and Doug Art Easel for my 18 month old son after falling in love with it at a friend's house. I couldn't believe how much he enjoyed drawing and coloring on it and was just as happy when he showed the same excitement after we bought him one of his own. I bought the accessory pack and have only used the crayons, paper, and chalk due to my son's age and my only dissapointment is with the chalk. It is really chalky and makes a mess on clothes, furniture, etc. I will probably buy new chalk and try it again when he is older. Otherwise, I am completely satisfied with this product and would recommend to anyone who has a child just waiting to explore his/her creative side.

This easel is awesome. I got it for my daughter's birthday, and she's been using it ever since. We get so many uses out of it, and I'm using it while I homeschool her too. All in all, this is a must buy and a great addition for any budding artist and curious child.

I purchased this for my daughters (5 & 2 yrs old) for the cold winter months. I let them use washable markers on both sides, and then they clean it off with a wet paper towel, sponge or wipey. It's a great place for them to spend time being creative!

Encourages her to be on her own - painting, writing. Motivates her to learn to write better.

I was concerned when i purchased this product about the height of it, however when it arrived it had adjustable levels which was perfect for my girl. She loves this item, it is one of her favorites and has become a daily routine for her. I am glad that this product will grow with her. It is wonderful to watch her create her masterpieces every day.

A must buy for the 3 year olds

First, let me say that we got this for Christmas for our 2.5 year old boy. Our boy is very active and can be aggressive at times. This easel is made very sturdy and looks attractive as well.
I would strongly recommend this to anyone looking for an easel. Friends of ours have the crayola easel and have found it to be weaker than ours. A plus is that this easel is adjustable, meaning as your kids grow so does the easel's height. And I like that the paper is hidden in the middle of the A frame, it keeps it out of the way.

The chalk board is not a problem. I simply followed the directions that come in the box and "seasoned" our board. By coloring/rubbing chalk all over it and wipping it off.

I can't believe someone went the length of using a power sander on this easel... Really? I guess I'm skeptical and not sure why? Yes, that would certainly ruin this chalk board.

Melissa and Doug Deluxe Standing Easel is great 1 Help save my kid from drawing on the walls in the apartment! Use as a creative tool to developed ideas and putting it on paper ! Easy setup and with the roll of paper on the go.

Great bargain. I was concerned with the chalk board because some reviews mentioned it needed to be sanded. I did not find that problem at all. My 4 year old son loves the dry erase board and practicing writing his name over and over. Soon enough, my 9 month old girl will be practicing her name as well. Great investment, gift and product overall.

My three yr old and 15 mth old LOVE this! I would recommend this to anyone! I haven't had the chalkboard problems like everyone else. Chalk goes on smooth!

I like this easel a lot and would recommend it to encourage creativity in your tot. There's no metal hinges that can pinch or rust, and it's adjustable as they grow. It took about an hour to put together, but pretty easy overall. My 2 year old loves it. The chalk board works fine with real white teacher's chalk, but not so well with sidewalk chalk.

We have had our easel of about 6 weeks. Our Ahma bought it for us because we spend lots of time at her home and we love arts and crafts. Mostly we(my 2 brothers Frankie+Diego, 2 sisters Alexis+Jasmine and 3 cousins Aiyana, Apolo+Ayla) like to use to marker side. We kind of like the chalk board we use it to play school. Since it's at Ahma's she sometimes uses it she likes it too. Ahma uses a timer when we all want to play with the marker side just like when we all want to use the computer. Dictated by Viviana 9 yrs.

Our granddaughter loves this. We gave it to her for her 5th birthday and she has drawn many pictures for her Mom that are posted on the refrigerator.

I purchased this easel for my daughter as a gift for her second birthday. She absolutely loves using it and it is large enough so that her cousin who is the same age can stand next to her and color too! I am very happy with this product.

I bought this for my daughters 6th birthday. Ever since this past year when she was in kindergarten she has been referring to herself as "an artist." So what better gift for the budding young artist than her first easel? I love that this is multifunctional in that it allows her to paint, draw on the white board or the chalk board and allows endless possibilities for her creativity.

She loves to play teacher and write assignments on the dry erase and chalk board, or imitate her teacher from last year in putting up assignments for "her class" to complete (my husband, myself and our son being her class). If only she would learn to write with chalk properly without the screeching sound then I'd truly have no complaints to list here but as that is a complaint with her chalk writing skills and not the easel itself I have to say we are quite pleased with our purchase.

We got the companion set to go along with it as well and it came with a nice variety of chalk colors, but only 4 paint colors and worse yet only ONE dry erase marker. Because it's simply a companion starter set the only thing I would've preferred was more dry erase markers. I realize they are easy enough to purchase elsewhere which is why no markdown in my ratings but that would be my only wish for the product would be to see more markers included.
Melissa & Doug Deluxe Easel Companion Set

Out of the choices listed in Amazon for easels this was absolutely my favorite and has lived up to its expectations. As I said, my daughter, the "artist", simply loves it and that afterall is the biggest selling point for us seeing her face light up whenever she plays with it.

I purchased this for a 7 year old grandaughter. I was a bit worried that it was too "young" for her, but she absolutely loves it and now sees herself as a real artist. This was an excellent choice and I thought those who might worry about age appropriateness for a somewhat older child might value the feedback.

Just what we wanted. Similar products had smaller work surfaces, of comparable or lesser quality, and often more cost more.

Our daughter is 3 now and has been enjoying this product for almost 2 years now. It's a regular fixture in our living room since it receives so much use. Nice wooden easel -- we don't like plastic products -- and sturdy. My daughter can lean or bump into it and it won't wobble, skid across the floor, or fold up and collapse like the flimsy IKEA model we looked at.
The easel is vertically adjustable and any components that may need to be removed (plastic paint tray for washing or the wooden bar for the paper roll) are accessible via colorful hand-tightened wing nuts. Roll paper is fixed in place for projects via clamps -- akin to the sort used to seal, say, a potato chip bag. If they get lost it's no big deal.

Some product info:
There is a surface on each side of this A-frame style easel -- a blackboard with a 2" deep rectangular tray running the width of the easel for erasers, chalk and whatnot -- and a dry erase whiteboard with a tray molded with (2) square pockets, (4) round pockets for paint, and a long grove for brushes. The trays are easy to clean. Occasionally my daughter sat on the tray and it was clear from the bowing that at any moment something would give. She was accordingly upbraided.

I feared that the paper roll would be a diversion and instead of painting, she'd unravel it like a toilet paper roll. Never happened.

On a side note, this product is used at her day care where several are heavily used day after day by a class of tantrum-prone 3 and 4 year demons without issue.

If you want an easel for your kid, this is the one to get. However, one thing that irks me is that, on the surface, you expect (hope) that the Melissa & Doug line of wooden fun, an antidote to the endless litter of bulbous extruded plastic bolus, would be manufactured domestically. But it's *all* made over in the same far eastern country that makes everything else.

This product is wonderful. It is very sturdy and easy for my 3-year-old to use. I throw down a drop cloth, put an apron on him and let him get in touch with his creative, artistic side! My only issue. . . no paper comes with it! When we received this for my son's birthday, we realized after putting it together that we had to tape regular paper to it. I quickly ordered the easel paper rolls and we were fine, but just be aware that your best bet to get your child started right away is to invest in the easel companion when you buy this.

We bought this for our daughter's 3rd birthday a month ago along with the easel and she LOVES it. My husband put it together with relative ease and had it set up for the next morning so she could start painting and drawing. We have nothing to complain about with this easel and still think it's the best idea for our little artist's birthday!

Bought this easel to encouage writing skills and it worked like a charm!! Kids love it, they write and draw on the dry erase and they play school , lots to do with it. easy to assemble very sturdy. must place in a center part of the house, kitchen works very well.

My nieces love this thing! I got it for them for christmas with a bunch of art stuff and their mom says they're still playing with it almost everyday! Easy to set up, great if you have more than one kid around{7 yr old girls aren't known for sharing!} and if you need paper refills head to wall mart or thye have it here on Amazon...

You won't beat the value anywhere!

122 5 Star Reviews and counting just can't be wrong. Give this item a try, and you'll see for yourself that it matches kid's easel's selling for more money. Also, if you're a regular Amazon.com customer and you have Prime, the shipping is free. What a bargain!

The paper rolls and paint cups are not included, but they are also sold on Amazon for an excellent price.

Aside from the obvious uses for art, there's the added fun of imaginative use for playing school with the chalk board!

I totally recommend this for any child on your gift list!

I bought this for my 5 yr old bro...he loooves it. The easel came alone, the description says it came with paint and roll of paper. I contacted the vendor and he sent a replacement out within the same day; but the second shipment was also missing paper and paint so I left it alone. Definetely buy the paint set available....its a great combo. GREAT, GREAT toy...keeps them happy longer!

I know several people who own this product as well. We all have the same complaint - the chalkboard doesn't work! I had to sand it, spray it with a new chalkboard, sand it again, treat it with chalk, etc. I would have preferred to avoid the hassle and have it arrive chalk-ready. Otherwise, it's a nice easel and my son loves it.

My kids LOVE this and since getting it from Santa, they have really blossomed into little artists! It folds up nicely (the reason why I got rid of our first easel that didn't fold up).

Definately buy the accessory kit and aprons and extra paper rolls.

The only complaint; the knobs that hold the whole thing together are too easy to remove by children, even if tightened with tools. I keep losing them from my 4 year old that likes to take them off all the time. I think I need to order more knobs now.