Geoboards are great for fine motor skills, making and identifying shapes and they're just fun to play with (ahem...for me to!). And there are several great DIY ones I've seen on other blogs, but they were still a bit beyond my level of craftiness.
Disclosure: I received complimentary Rainbow Bandz for the purpose of a review. All opinions and ideas are my own.
But one day I looked up at our mini-corkboard and seemed to see it with new eyes. No longer a place to hang messages and the occassional key, I now saw it as...our new geoboard!
Using colorful pushpins, the first time we did it we had no rubber bands, so we used hair elastics instead! Inventive, but they were thick enough that you couldn't fit more than 2 around a pin.
Next time we tried it with real elastics. With our mini board, regular-sized rubber bands were kind of big, but we (yes, I said we!) both had fun with it. I could see Kay working to stretch the elastics around the pins and my mommy-mind couldn't help thinking, "Fine motor skills - check!"
Finally, I got a chance to review Rainbow Bandz. These are technically for use on a Rainbow Loom, to make bracelets and rings and whatever else you make on those things, but I thought they were be perfect for our geoboard.
These ones were smaller, colorful, and made a fun twanging sound when you strummed them. (Guess who figured that one out?) They were just right for our geoboard, and, I, personally, liked these because I have an irrational fear of elastics (don't ask!) but these seemed sturdy.
These ones were smaller, colorful, and made a fun twanging sound when you strummed them. (Guess who figured that one out?) They were just right for our geoboard, and, I, personally, liked these because I have an irrational fear of elastics (don't ask!) but these seemed sturdy.
Now I hope I don't need to say this, but obviously caution needs to be taken with the pushpins. This isn't a geoboard for toddlers or even younger preschoolers. YOU know your child, YOU know when he or she is ready. The bonus of using the push pins over a regular geoboard with set places is that you can move the pins to make a different shape. Kay probably would have enjoyed just poking in the pins and moving them around; I'm convinced that was at least part of the allure of this activity for her.
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