Tuesday, November 15, 2011

On The Go Geoboard


do it yourself geoboard with storage pouch

If you follow me on Facebook you might have read that this past Sunday night my dad had a heart attack. He is recovering but we are still very worried about him. We have all wanted to be by his side and that has meant a lot of time spent in the hospital. I had made this geoboard for R for the purpose of being able to bring it to doctor's offices, restaraunts, etc. This week, with my dad being in the hospital and R's eye specialist appointment, poor R has spent a lot of time in places he is suppose to sit still and behave and be quiet. This geoboard is perfect for those situations!

home made geoboard with nails

Making a geoboard is really easy and it brings hours of fun. We made ours out of a piece of 2x6 decking board. My husband cut it to the size I wanted and I sanded all of the edges. Then I primed and painted our board black. I thought the black would make the colors of the rubber bands stand out. I also added a layer of Mod Podge because practically everything is better with it. Next, we made a grid on a piece of paper for the nail holes. We spaced each nail one inch apart and taped the paper to the board. My husband sweetly offered to hammer in the nails for me while I worked on something else. And that was it! 

homemade geoboard with storage pouch for rubberbands

I made a felt pouch for our board as an added bonus. I let R pick out a color of felt that he liked and I sewed it by hand (as you can tell by the wonky stitches). It was simple to sew, but you could also use glue if you'd rather. Then I added a velcro closure and attached it to the geoboard with velcro. This way he can store all of the rubber bands in the pouch, which stays attached to the board when it is not in use. When he wants to play with it, he can easily remove the pouch from the back. It's easy and quick to pack up because any rubber bands he has put on the board will stay. If we are called back into our room at the doctor's office we can just put the pouch back on the board and toss it in my purse. Everything stays together!

Detachable storage pouch for rubberbands

There are so many different ways to play with a geoboard. You can make shapes, letters, patterns, and abstract designs. We also counted the nails, columns and rows. Our geoboard has five rows with seven columns for a total of 35 nails. It's also great for strengthening those hand muscles! R likes making pictures on occasion but I think his favorite part is just stretching the rubber bands. The pictures are usually an afterthought for now.

                                          Lots of ways to play with a geoboard

I think that this would be a great homemade Christmas present as well. It's not just for travel! It's also a great activity just for fun, or for a busy activity at the kitchen table as you cook dinner. My son loves his and I wish that I would have made him one sooner. 

Do you think a geoboard is something that would interest your child?

I'm linking this up to:



Made with Love

19 comments:

  1. Best wishes for your father!!

    This is a great idea, much better than the plastic geoboard we have!

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  2. Hope all is well with your Dad and family!
    I love this idea and I will share it on FB!

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  3. Thank you both for the well wishes and kind words! He is getting better and we find out more tomorrow.

    Thanks so much LeeanneA for sharing my post. I'm glad that you like it!

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  4. I hope your Dad recovers soon. You and your husband have made your son a fabulous toy.

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  5. Thanks Ali! I really appreciate you stopping by and commenting.

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  6. These are great I have wanted to make some for ages, I think you may have just given me the incentive to get up and do it.

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  7. Thank you so much, An Almost Unschooling Mom. He is. For awhile there we were very worried about him, but he's finally doing better.

    Alison, I'm so glad! I honestly waited too long to make it, in my opinion. I had always meant to.. just didn't. He has played with it every day since I've made it. He makes me pictures. I hope you let me know how it goes, if you do decide to make one :)

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  8. I love this! It would definitely make a wonderful Christmas gift - especially being homemade. Love the pocket. I hope you'll visit my blog: Kindergarten for Teachers and Parents.

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  9. Thanks so much for stopping by! I can honestly say that we have already got a *lot* of fun and use from this. I'll definitely check out your blog! It sounds like something I would love. I'm heading there now. Thanks!

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  10. Joyce, sorry to hear about your dad. I hope he's recovering well now...

    This geo board is a great learning tool. I have been thinking of making it for sometime but have not - still. Yours is inspiring me to make one soon.

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  11. That is flippin genius putting the pouch on the back for the rubber bands.

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  12. What a great idea!!!! I love it!!! And, I LOVE the new banner! When you get a chance, maybe you could drop by the C&C Linky for Homemade Christmas- These would be great homemade gifts!

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  13. Rashmie, please let me know if you do make one! I'd love to see it. It has been played with every day. I definitely should have made one sooner!

    Haha, thank you, Monko!

    Thanks so much, critters and crayons for stopping by and inviting me to link it up. I'm so excited to be a part of your homemade christmas linky.

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  14. I hope your dad is ok? I know some time has passed by since november...Love the GEOboard, absolutely sharing thins on Pinterest! Thanks for linking up and keep on creating joyce, would love to see you back.
    Love from a 'Made with Love' girl , Angelique

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    1. He is doing better, Angelique. Thank you for asking. I'm glad you like it. Thank you for sharing and for hosting such a wonderful linky!

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  15. What a great idea I love the little felt pocket on the bag as well. Glad to hear that you dad is doing much better.

    Thank you for linking up to Made with Love

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  16. What a cool idea! Perhaps, I could make one like this for my son in case he misbehaves in our optometrists' clinic.

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