Quick, Easy DIY Busy Board for Toddlers
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This DIY busy board is made of items you probably already have (or could easily find) and requires minimal tools, so it’s the perfect beginner project that’ll give you a much-needed 20 minutes of free time while your small demon exerts some energy and builds motor skills. Win win.
You can read a complete breakdown on this project on our blog HERE.
Cut your boardI first measured how tall I needed the whole board to be, for me it was about 23 inches to fit under a window, and cut my beadboard down to that length. So then I had a 23-inch tall board, and using the piece of scrap I had, it was about 24 inches wide.I marked the center point of what would be the top, and using my miter saw, set the angle at 31.6 then cut from the center point out to the edge. I repeated that step on the other side to make a little house shape.
Sand and paintI then sanded down the beadboard and gave it a coat of paint with a roller. Side note: Painting beadboard is tedious with all those little cracks, but so worth it.
Add trim pieces (optional)This step isn't necessary, but I added left over from another project to make a little roof for my new house shape.
Attach your trinketsI got a couple of items online, but mostly just walked the hardware store aisles and found little pieces that I knew baby girl would love to play with. Dog training bell Craft wood cutouts
Attach to your wallBeing that we’ve only got a teeny little house, we really don’t have a lot of space for all these things we keep making, but I deliberately built this busy board to fit right underneath one of the windows in the nursery. I just used regular screws and added them into the wall. If you aren’t hitting a stud, make sure to use anchors because believe me, your little one will definitely be going nuts and yanking on all those little parts in no time.
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Really cute idea. Watch for choking hazards though. The beads and sprockets for example.
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I absolutely love this!! Not only is this one great for kids but MEN with dementia or Alzheimer’s would love this! I’m getting back into crafting after a very long health break and would love to make something like this and give them to the patients at the nursing homes who suffer with these issues. The only difference would be having to make them lap sized. This might also be something to make in the size you have made and use for the wall in the nursing homes for the patients with these two diseases BUTT ALSO FOR the ones who live there with other conditions so that if they start to get Alzheimer’s or dementia and they head towards these things then the nursing home can make sure they get the lap versions as well.
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Oh my goodness. How did you think of this? I love it. A fun learning tool.
Do kids actually play with these things?