Monday, January 17, 2011

DIY Activity Board

My sweet husband made this fun activity board for James...

This is something anyone can make! Keep in mind we are not carpenters, we have very limited access to wood and no fancy tools. Nope, just the bare basics were used to create this - a piece of scrap wood, a hand saw, some sandpaper, and a drill. Oh and a variety of hardware (i.e. nails, screws, etc.).

James loves this board and using the real tools to work the screws and nails. Of course we watch him while he plays with this and he wears protective eye wear the entire time.


~Thank you for your comments!~

16 comments:

Unknown said...

Melis also likes this kind of activities we will do as well soon :)

City Sister said...

great idea...I always hate those plastic big box store ones that don't work realistically.

Kristi @ Creative Connections for Kids said...

What a great idea! I especially like getting dads involved. Thanks!

Robyn said...

Love this idea! I've resisted buying my boys pretend tools because I believe the real thing is a much better use of my money and certainly something they could use. For someone with a younger child wanting to hammer, using golf tees in styrofoam also works, or roofing nails in layers of corrugated cardboard glued together for a bit more of a challenge (if you don't have access to wood). I'm planning on setting up a stump in the yard this summer and letting my two boys fill it full of nails. Love the idea of different tools and activities in one spot! Thanks for sharing!

Nicole {tired, need sleep} said...

This is exactly the kind of thing I've been looking for for Matthew. He currently uses our screwdrivers to take apart. every. single. toy. he. owns. I'll have to look into making something like this!

Question - where did you find safety goggles that fit James?

Thanks for a great idea, Mary-Ann!

Katie@a mom, a wife, and a me said...

Thanks for sharing! I have 3 little guys who would LOVE this!

Counting Coconuts said...

Thank you so much for your comments!

@Robyn: I would LOVE to find a stump for the same purpose as you mentioned. I saw the very thing on My Montessori Journey and it just looks like so much fun.

@Nicole: At first James' "protective eye wear" was just mommy's sunglasses! LOL But they served the purpose only slightly as they kept falling off. His own sunglasses didn't cover enough eye-space as I'd like. SO I found these to use instead: http://www.montessoriservices.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=4423_111_136_3043. I've since linked back to them in my post.

Unknown said...

SO fun. We are totally doing this!

Caz said...

Great idea! We did some hammering activities once using a cardboard box but I like this idea where it can be reused over and over much more, will have to have a go at making one.

Anonymous said...

oo how fun! I bet he loves it!

The Mom I Want To Be said...

My husband loves making stuff like this for our son! When he was a baby he loved to play with a board covered in wiggly door-stoppers (with the chokey ends removed) and hinges.

Unknown said...

This looks like hours of fun!

Jessie, The Education Of Ours said...

That's just adorable. What a joy to know what your child would love :)

Eva said...

this is awesome! :)

Jen said...

Yeah Paul! What a good daddy!

Förskoleburken said...

Love this, have linked to it here:
http://forskoleburken.blogspot.com/2011/05/tratips.html
Cheers!

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