Creating a DIY Sensory Board

I would rather call mine a ‘learn as you play’ board because I have included a bit of this and that which mainly focused on developing fine motor skills. Of course, it is related to sensory, but I just like the name ‘play as you learn’ more than calling it sensory board. It makes it more ‘neutral’ as many people think that sensory boards are just for kids with special needs.

 

Sensory boards can be used with any child to teach different skills and to expose to different kind of textiles/visuals. It can be created based on the likes/ dislikes and developmental needs of your child. We can keep a sensory board in a classroom as well as at home. It can be personalized very easily if it is at home depending on what the child needs most.

I’m going to explain how I created a no-cost sensory board recently. It is no-cost because I used 99 % recycled materials to make this board and I got help from family to make it the way I wanted. Without their technical support and help, I wouldn’t have been able to do it so easily.

Materials used:

Old shirt (for buttoning)

Old baby cloth (for buttoning)

Seeds

Sponge

Pool noodle

Belts (different types)

Tiles

Brushes

Shoe (for shoe lace)

Magnets play board (reusing)

Pipes

Bolt and nuts

DIY Geo Board and Loop Board 

Bottles (too tighten tops)

Old key board

Calculator (it worksJ)

DIY loop board and Geo board

Sockets

Mirror

Note: All these items are borrowed from friends and family

How it was done:

First I took the measurements of the area to keep the board. Next, I have arranged all the available materials on the board and got the items fixed on the board. I made sure that kids will not be able to pull the items out of the board. I also considered the safety of kids when this was done and guided the teachers on how it can be used more effectively. For example; the bolts were fixed on the board, however, the nuts were kept with the teachers and the students were given them with the teacher being present with them. Likewise, the rubber bands for the Geo board were also kept with the teachers and given to students as needed.

Fixing the board on the wall

When the board was complete, it was fixed on the wall. It can be modified easily by replacing with other materials as the students get used to the materials which are already on the board. For example, a clock (without the glass so that students can play with the hands) or a telephone would be something the students would love to play.

It would be a challenging task if you try to do it alone. So get all the help available and try to create your own sensory board for your child to play and learn at the same time. 

Here is how it looked at the end.