Busy Boards For Toddlers Ideas & Pictures – homemade DIY sensory boards to make a crib busy board, latches and gadgets board or learning activity wall for your toddler or baby to keep them busy while improving their fine motor skills.
Sensory Board Ideas
Let me show you all the easy DIY busy board ideas I’ve found for my bundle of energy 1-year old – what a great homemade activity to help him learn WHILE being busy and having fun!
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I don’t know about YOUR toddler, but mine is busy, Busy, BUSY all the time!
He is SUCH a bundle of energy and curiosity!
A few years ago, I saw a homemade busy board this dad made for his toddler and thought it was BRILLIANT!
How can you NOT want to play with it and fidget with all the gadgets?!?!
I showed it to my husband (who, btw, is NOT a handy man or crafty at all) and he said, “Cool idea!” – and that was that :::insert eye roll here:::
Not long after, one of my mom friends in my neighborhood made one of these sensory boards for her toddler and let me tell ya…
Her 2-year old LOVES it and plays with it ALL the time.
I decided that I want to make a toddler BUSY board instead of buying one since we do have random gadgets and latches etc around the house to work with.
What a great idea to keep him busy with educational toys, right?
So… that means I needed to collect some pictures of DIY sensory board ideas if we plan to make a homemade busy board.
Here are the ideas I’ve come up with that I really like so far.
Man, some parents are so clever and creative, aren’t they?
I am a big fan of sensory toys – and these busy boards with latches and lights and switches and all kinds of gadgets from around the home are simply brilliant… especially since they’re homemade and not yet ANOTHER one of the hottest toys this year.
Let me show you what I picked as my favorite ideas.
Travel Busy Boards for Toddlers✅ See ThisMontessori Busy Boards for Toddlers✅ See This
☑ Are busy boards safe?
Busy boards are safe for toddlers to play with as long as all latches, hinges, light switches and fidget gadgets are securely placed and NOT able to be removed by your toddler.
To be SURE your homemade busy board is safe for your toddler:
- Do NOT use long cords or strings
- Nothing sharp
- NO small items that could be choking hazards
- Be sure the busy board is mounted safely (see below)
- Be sure all busy board items are washed before being played with
- Never let your toddler play unsupervised
- No loose small pieces
Unique Busy Board
What a UNIQUE toddler busy board idea – they made the sensory activity board look like an iPhone!
Star Wars Busy Board
You wanna talk about unique and creative toddler activity boards?
Take a look at this Star Wars themed busy board – NOW that’s a way to get a Dad involved, right?!?!
DIY Latches Board
Love this DIY Latch Board idea! All the latches and knobs would really keep him busy – think I’d paint the wood board first tho.
Homemade Gadget Board
I LOVE this DIY activity board idea below – the latches and gadgets would be my toddlers favorite part!
Looks like it could made into a crib busy board, too which makes it a good idea for all ages.
Free-Standing Busy Board
This is a great busy board idea but not sure I could make it. The wood working looks a little advanced for me….
Heck, I was barely creative enough to make chore charts for the kids let alone do elaborate wood work lol!
☑ How to make a busy board stand up?
To make a busy board stand up AND be safe for your toddler, there are 3 options –
- Make the busy board hinged in the middle so it is free-standing on its own (see picture below)
- Attach the busy board to a wall (see below)
- Make a base platform as shown in the diagram below that see how to make a free standing busy board:
Gadget Board For Toddlers
This is a really cute sensory board that they made into an activity wall for their toddler
The video tutorial below shows how he made it with all those fun gadgets.
☑ How to put a light switch on a busy board?
To put a light switch on a busy board, use the screws that came with the light switch plate and securely screw them into the busy board. The most important step is to be sure the light switch screws are secure so they are not a choking hazard.
Activity Wall Board for Toddlers
I like the overall idea of this toddler wall-mounted busy board, but I think the sensory board needs more stuff on it to play and fidget with.
Heck my toddler needs his healthy snacks to be aesthetic so I’m sure his busy board would need to be visually appealing too!
☑ How do you attach a busy board to the wall?
To attach a busy board to the wall, use hanging hardware called French cleat hangars to ensure the busy board is safely attached to the wall.
Magnetic Learning Board Ideas
MAGNETIC busy board idea for toddlers. Not only does this sensory board have latches it also has a magnetic area. Brilliant!
FAQ
☑ Are Busy Boards Montessori?
Busy boards are Montessori-inspsired, but not all busy boards are Montessori busy boards. Montessori learning toys are primarily made from wood and natural materials and are designed to encourage play and develop fine motor skills. Montessori learning toys all focus on teaching a toddler one specific skill at a time – meaning that busy boards with MANY gadgets, latches and switches are not necessarily Montessori style.
☑ What age is good for a busy board?
Busy boards are for toddlers and babies over 6 months old. Busy boards for children of the ages 1, 2 and 3-years old are an excellent learning toys that helps develop fine motor skills, encourage curiosity and for learning how things work.
☑ Are busy boards worth it?
Many parents wonder if busy boards are worth or just another parenting trend that is over-hyped on Pinterest. Yes, busy boards ARE worth it for teaching your child life skills, developing their fine motor skills, improving their concentration skills and for encouraging independent play.
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