Buckle Board

I'm participating in a Make It From Scratch (MIFS) Blog Carnival that my friend Kristen at GreenStyleMom is hosting.

This Buckle Board was actually a joint effort (my idea and grandma and grandpa's handiwork)...I can't take credit for the WHOLE thing. The idea came to me a few months ago when I noticed Sam becoming interested in the buckle/latches on his car seat and high chair. So, my teacher brain wheels started turning and I thought I needed to take advantage of this "teachable moment"...since he's showing an interest, start teaching him about buckles. I realize he doesn't actually have the fine motor skills necessary for doing all types of buckles, but I thought this would be a "toy" he would be able to make use of for a while. My thoughts were...get a board, paint it, get some nylon straps, attach various "buckles" to the nylon straps so the ends fasten together, somehow attach the lose ends of the various nylon straps to the edges of the board...and with those thoughts, this is what grandma and grandpa made for me.


The whole board.

Washers and wood screws to secure nylon ends.














Elastic sewn on the under side of nylon to allow for stretching.

A couple of things I would do differently next time. Make the nylon a little longer...maybe use elastic on every strap, and little more of it to allow the strap to stretch a little more....or perhaps just use stretchy/elastic straps instead of nylon. Sam holds each side in his hand to try to fasten (he can't just use his fingers like an adult would), so he needs to be able to pull the strap away from the board a little more to be able to manipulate it and fasten the buckle on some of them.

Oh yes, when I came up with the idea I also thought, "Hmmm, I could sale these=make some money!"...and then I pulled my head out of the clouds and came back to Earth...no way would have time to make, market, and sale these. So, here it is. I hope someone will be inspired by it so your kids can enjoy it too. I'd love to hear about any fabulous modifications you come up with.