The easel is a great idea and I was very excited about the possibilities with it, however, I found that since it does not have a stiff enough back when in the easel position this makes it harder to write on. If you lay it down and write on it first then it will work wonderfully, but in my case I was looking for something to write on while it was being used as an easel. The lined paper on the pad is great for presentations and is even the kind of lined paper you teach your kids to learn to write on, so the easel could be a fun tool for kids practicing writing. Just be advised that if you try to write on it while it is in the standing position then the back of it will flex and it may lead to sloppier writing, as it did in my case.