We have a couple “traditional” geoboards that come out every so often. But the boys really can’t get into them. I think the pegs are still a little too small and their fingers aren’t quite coordinated enough to handle it yet. I saw someone make a bigger scale board out of the caps from fruit pouches and thought it was a great idea. All you need are some caps, a piece of cardboard, some hot glue, and the secret material: contact paper!

I think we go through 6-ish pouches a day and I save most of the lids. They’re great loose parts for play doh, they tend to stack nicely so great for balance games, and they are the perfect size for even Everett (19 months) to be able to use them as manipulatives. I probably have enough to make 10 geoboards, but couldn’t find a piece of cardboard that was large enough and would support the weight of them. You need the good shipping cardboard if you’re going to make a full size geoboard. All I had was a couple small boxes that I fished out of the recycling bin.

I decided to just start small and make it a matching game. And it was a total hit for Brixton (4.5) and Colston (3). I started with my cardboard, and then covered the front in contact paper. Did you know that you can use a dry erase marker on contact paper? I learned that trick a couple weeks ago, and have just been waiting to put it into use ever since!

Once the contact paper is on, I drew 2 “border” lines so I’d know where to glue my caps down. I put a dot of glue on the paper and let it dry. Then I added glue to the base of the cap and popped the cap over the glue dot already there. Let the glue dry completely — maybe 10 minutes — and then you’re ready to go!

Brixton requested to practice more addition and we set up some number matching for Colston

You could easily set this up for any skill that you are working on. Colors, shapes, letters (upper to lower case would be great with this!), all different kinds of number matching, the possibilities are endless!

Do your kids like using geoboards? Do you have other creative ways to use them that we can try? If you try to DIY your own board, tag us on instagram @thebplusmama and give us a follow to see what we’re up to day-to-day!