Toddler Busy Board

While my parents were in town I thought it would be the perfect time to get crackin' on Jack's busy board.

I planned and bought everything for this project months ago but never "found" the time. Which basically means I was lazy. But with reinforcements in town it helped kick my butt into gear.

I bought this pre-cut MDF board at Home Depot for something like $15. I didn't want to spend a whole ton of money so I knew I wasn't going to stain, paint, or do anything else to the board before hand. So I spent the time picking the right piece. One that wasn't scratched, marked, chipped, etc. I also noticed that some were kind of a reddy color which would lessen the cheap MDF look, so that's what I got.Then I just roamed the isles until I found all the other add on pieces. That was actually a lot of fun. I took Jack with me and we touched all different kinds of things before I decided on what I really wanted.

Then everything sat in a bag under my bed for a month. Because obviously :)

But once the reinforcements showed up I figured my excuses weren't going to cut it anymore. So my dad and I took over the back yard while my mom was on baby duty, she was so disappointed haha ;)

First I laid out all the pieces so I knew where I wanted them to go. Then I traced all the screw holes and drilled pilot holes. Then I screwed everything in! I left matching pieces; like the other side of the bathroom stall lock or chain lock till the end so I knew they would match up.

The eye hooks were a little more tricky since I was fully convinced I only had one drill bit which wasn't quite big enough. Later I obviously found out that I had a whole set like an adult but o'well. We just drilled our pilot hole and used pliers to twist the hook in. It worked fine but was slightly more work than it would have been otherwise. Thanks dad!

But everything actually came together quite nicely and it was super easy! Picking out what I wanted on the board was the hardest part. We don't have a super prominent place to put it so sometimes he forgets that it's there but when he does notice it he seems to like it. I think he'll like it more and more as he gets older and can really start playing with the combination lock and working all the different pieces. Right now the light and wheel are his favorites.

See below for details on each activity; maybe you can get some inspiration!

TOP LEFT :

• Push Light : I bought this at Home Depot as part of a two pack. On the back there is a hole for a nail head. I used a screw since all of our nails were too long and I didn't want it pointing out the back. This means though that it's not 100% secure. It shifts and moves. You could use adhesive (see details for the egg timer) but then you wouldn't be able to change the batteries once it was dead, which I really wanted to be able to do.
• Egg Timer : It was actually really difficult to find one! I wanted an old school one with large numbers and a front face dial. Most of the ones now are "modern" and twist all the way around or are funny shapes, etc. I ultimately found this one at Walmart in the clearance section. I used adhesive to bond it to the board. This one didn't have a back so I just put the adhesive on the edges and went for it. So far it's stayed in place! Jack uses it to pull up to get to the light so it's pretty strong!
• Door Knocker : I think this is technically a drawer pull. I wanted a old school ornate knocker but they are expensive! Over $20! So I found this which serves the same purpose. And since the board was a reddy color I wanted all the metals to be silver so they would pop and stand out. Most old knockers are gold or black. But this works great. It makes quite a loud bang but who cares!

BOTTOM LEFT :

• Bathroom Lock : I think there's a real name for this but let's be honest the only place you see these really is the bathroom stalls. This is probably the least used since he doesn't really understand it yet but he'll learn. I attached one side first and then "locked" it and marked the holes on the other side. That way I knew I got it lined up right.
• Telephone : This was also really hard to find now-a-days. I wanted a phone with push buttons and a cord, that way it wouldn't get lost around our house. I found this one at GoodWill for a few bucks. It even has caller ID! I attached this the same way I attached the light. I used screws that had large enough heads to fit the nail holes. There is one at the top and the bottom so it's more secure than the push light which only has one. He doesn't really use it too much, which is surprising because he loves his purple play phone but it is a tad heavy. He does love to play with the cord though :)
• Zipper : I had this zipper around from an old sewing project so it was free but you can get one from your local fabric/craft store for under $10. Make sure to get a large one like for coats, jeans, jackets, etc. so it's easy to pull. You could use an invisible zipper but really? I just used a staple gun and attached both ends to the board.

TOP RIGHT :

• Combination Lock : I got this at Home Depot and used an eye hook (think that's what it's called) to attach it. You could also put adhesive on the back but then it wouldn't come off if they got it right. I know this might be dangerous one day but it seems more satisfying when you can take it off :). I drilled a pilot hole (as you already know it was too small) and used pliers to twist it in. I also plan to write the combination above the lock so help Jack learn numbers.
• Hook Latch : There are actually two of these. One vertical and one horizontal. This was attached the same way the combo lock was but since they are smaller the pilot holes worked fine.
• Chain, Drawer pull, Claw Clasp : This one was probably the most complicated but it turned out just how I wanted it to in the end. I wanted something that made some great noise but that also taught Jack some motor skills. I came up with this chain idea. I was originally going to attach the chain to the hook at the top but I didn't plan correctly and I bought chain with no openings and I don't have cutters. So I bought two carabiner type things and attached one to either end. Well one exploded and I lost the spring. So that left me with one. So I looped the chain through the hook and used my one remaining carabiner to attach the claw clasp. Then I drilled holes for the drawer pull and attached it. Now Jack can clang the chain or use the clasp and hook it onto the drawer pull.

BOTTOM RIGHT :

• Chain Lock : I attached this the same way as the bathroom lock. I marked and screwed in one side then "locked" it and marked and screwed in the other side so I knew it would work. I also placed it high enough that the chain doesn't it the floor, because that seemed annoying.
• Hook Latch : same as the other one except horizontal. Also high enough not to hit the ground.
• Caster : Jack loves to smack things to make them move so I knew wheels were going to be vital. This one is vertical so he can smack it down or up. It's also pretty small so it doesn't take up much room or take much effort to spin.
• Door Stop : The reason for this seems pretty obvious ;). I put it at the bottom because that seemed most natural and it's in easy reach no matter how he gets there.

MIDDLE :

• WHEEL : OMG this took forever to narrow down. I really wanted a steering wheel. Kind like this one. But it was just too big for the board. So I landed on a lawn mower wheel. Who knew they even sold those?! It was the perfect size and thick enough for Jack to grab hold of and spin since it didn't have any holes in the center like a steering wheel. I used a bolt a large screw and a few washers to attach it. Basically I drilled a hole, added a few washers, then the wheel, then a few more washers then put the screw threw the middle of it all. That way it can spin without rubbing against the wood.

All in all it came out PERFECTLY! I can't wait for Jack to really get into it and start maneuvering all the different locks. Right now he loves the light more than anything. And watching him play with the door stop is hilarious! Instead of giving it a good smack he every so gingerly pokes it and it doesn't even make a sound. I never thought I'd be on my hands and knees teaching my baby how to properly smack a door stop :).