This is a great way to keep those busy little toddlers, well busy! Let’s face it we spend so much money on toys for these little ones and they would rather play with the light switch, or the electrical outlet or even just sit in front of the fridge and put magnets all over it. Here is a board that you can combine all of their favorite “toys” onto one board.
Hence, the Toddler Busy Board!
I saw this idea on Pinterest and when I showed my husband he agreed this was a must. My husband went to Home Depot and bought a 4′ x 4′ board that he cut down to be 4′ x 3′.
We searched the tool bench area and found some extra stuff to put on the board. A light switch, a chair wheel (that spins!- that is fun!), a rug sample (feels so soft), plugs, latches, combination lock (that spins too!), touch light (goes on and off by battery so that is child-safe), pvc pipe, and a valve (that turns!-another plus). We found some more things and just added those to the board. Baby toys that would hang from her infant car seat that she outgrew … we screwed them on their too. An old shoe that we can teach her four-year-old sister how to tie. I also found a cookie sheet at the dollar store that we screwed onto the bard for the girls to put their magnets onto.
My husband spent sometime outside putting this whole board together. We did not paint or finish the wood we just left it as is since we were going to keep it inside.
I loved how it looked but, I had to add my own finishing touches to it. I painted the alphabet around the board.
and I added the numbers 1 through 10
and of course pictures of us on the board too with the words, mommy, daddy and the girls names on the board.
And surprise … our kitty’s picture is under the electrical cover.
We love this board and it definitely keeps the kids busy!
Try not to spend a lot of money and find those extra things you have lying around the house or in your junk drawer to put onto the board. Of course make sure it is child-safe. NO SHARP EDGES, Nothing that can poke them or hurt them in any way.
For instance, we have the electrical outlets throughout the house covered because they are live and can hurt our little ones that try to stick things in them. However, we have put this electrical outlet on the board and do let her play with it because it is not hooked up and is not live. I was a little wary of putting this on the board because we tell her all the time not to play with the outlets. Putting more thought into it, I felt that it was okay just on this board and will help her with her fine motor skills.
This one we made is just a reference for you to refer to to add to and take a few ideas away from.
Here are some of our favorite Busy Boards from Pinterest and sparked our interest to make this one.
Found on rockwellali.blogspot.com