Entertaining the Grandchildren

A grandchild fills a space in your heart that you never knew was empty.

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Our beautiful granddaughters are such a blessing in our life. Of course, they are perfect. Neil and I are so in love with those little ones. They are also our first little ones and a great example of how we were not ready for that energy. I forgot how active they are. And more importantly, how brilliant they are. They are sponges waiting to absorb all the information that this world has to give. And they definitely absorb. After one weekend of reading a lovely book, my granddaughter effectively barked every time she saw the dog. So I won’t lie, we needed to A) get in shape to run around with them and B) find ways to entertain them. Step A was easy to work on...eat better and exercise. Step B can become quite expensive.

I quit my job a little over a year ago. Reasoning for that decision will come in future blog but leave it to say: we don’t have a surplus of money. I look for bargains, use Dollar Tree for a lot of crafty ideas and reuse things where I can. So I have to give this idea to Neil. He saw something similar to this years ago and once our granddaughter was born, he brought the idea back to the drawing table. Can we put things on a board and call it the Activity Board? Yes yes...I was all in!!

First thing we did was get the board. Any home supply company carries boards that are perfect for this project. I found one that was 24” X 48” which bordered on large but we decided we could get more fun activities on it this way. We completely sanded the board to confirm there were not splinters and I spray painted the board white. The canvas was ready.

What to put on the board? Our granddaughters are young. We wanted to put things on the board that they could both use now and as they get older. In a few short years they will need to zip, tie, button. So those were easy. I went off to Goodwill and grabbed a jacket, sweater, shoes and slippers. I was going to put the full jacket and coat on the board but they took up way too much room. Sadly I had to cut them down. But I did save the scraps that I hope to use in a quilt. The shoes and slippers were perfect. Neil picked the fun things out - a push-on light, a door lock and combination lock. The latter two will be more appreciated as she gets older. Finally, we thought a calculator would be fun. I found one at the dollar store!

Finally, we wanted to have this be alive. So all of the activities are put on with Velcro. Not only can we change out the activities as they mature but if they want to remove the pieces from the board to get personal with them, they can. Hey, I need my shoes on to tie them, so shouldn’t they?

We presented this last Christmas before my second granddaughter was born. I must admit that the favorite activity was the push light but my granddaughter did try to put on the slippers too. I would love to see what things you put on your activity board!

I can’t iterate enough that this board is heavy. Make sure that the board is supported/secured to a wall so there is no chance for the board to cause anyone harm or any damage. Kids are fast. They can move quickly and hurt themselves even faster. Make sure anything you add to your board is choke-proof. Using a quote from one of the best cop dramas ever: “ Let’s be safe out there!!”

How to Make a Child Activity Board

Supplies

• Large plywood

• Paint/spray paint

• Velcro

• Age appropriate activities

1. Purchase a piece of plywood large enough to attach several activities. Plywood shown was 24" X 48".

2. Sand plywood until smooth and free of splinters.

3. Paint with non-toxic paint/spray paint.

4. Using velcro: place age appropriate activities on the board. Buttoning, tying shoes, lights etc. make great ideas. Be aware of small parts and do not place anything on the board that could pose a choking hazard.

5. Mount board at appropriate height using wall studs to ensure board will stay mounted.

6. Stand back and watch them having a great time.

7. Replace activities as they age.