I am so excited for Christmas this year! I stayed away from buying toys, and instead I made/bought activities that I thought my boys would like. A toy is fun to open on Christmas morning, and may get played with for a few days, but something like a magnet board, felt board, light table, art supplies, or books are things that will last all year long and bring more enrichment and imagination than a toy.
Well today I was weak. I have been so excited about this magnet board that I just couldn’t wait any longer to give it to my (almost) 3 year old. So today I told him that Santa wanted to surprise him and he dropped of an early Christmas present. I had it hanging in his room when we got back from preschool, and at first he was wary. He was not sure what it was, but after I showed him what you can do and what you can build, he got to work with determination and excitement.
I will say the big hit was the Melissa and Doug Joey Magnetic Dress Up figure I got him, where you can dress up “Joey” in different magnetic costumes like a cop, fireman, knight, super hero, etc. I thought he would really like the cut out Berenstain Bear magnets I made him, but like I said, Joey was def. the big hit. He worked on his new magnet board for about 40 minutes during his quiet time in his room, and his dad worked with him on in for another 30 minutes before bed, and I am sure it will be the first thing I hear him doing when he wakes up tomorrow
Well today I was weak. I have been so excited about this magnet board that I just couldn’t wait any longer to give it to my (almost) 3 year old. So today I told him that Santa wanted to surprise him and he dropped of an early Christmas present. I had it hanging in his room when we got back from preschool, and at first he was wary. He was not sure what it was, but after I showed him what you can do and what you can build, he got to work with determination and excitement.
I will say the big hit was the Melissa and Doug Joey Magnetic Dress Up figure I got him, where you can dress up “Joey” in different magnetic costumes like a cop, fireman, knight, super hero, etc. I thought he would really like the cut out Berenstain Bear magnets I made him, but like I said, Joey was def. the big hit. He worked on his new magnet board for about 40 minutes during his quiet time in his room, and his dad worked with him on in for another 30 minutes before bed, and I am sure it will be the first thing I hear him doing when he wakes up tomorrow
What you will need to make a magnet board:
- A large piece of sheet metal (I bought mine from Home Depot for $10, just make sure it is true sheet metal and thus magnetic)
- A large frame of the same measurements (I bought mine from Walmart)
- Thin card stock or fabric (optional, just make sure your card stock is not too thick)
- Shapes, cut outs, wood figures, (pretty much anything that you think would be fun to use as magnets)
- Magnetic Tape (I bought mine at Walmart)
Instructions:
- Take the glass off of the frame and discard or save for another use.
- Place the sheet metal in the frame and put on the backing of the frame and secure.
- You can be done after this or you can glue thin cardstock or fabric to the sheet metal to make it “prettier” than just a metal sheet.
- I used colored paper and cut out the pictures of the tree, sun, lake, clouds, and rain drops that you see in the picture and glued them on. Again, this is totally optional. You can use your imagination, create a firehouse, cop station, garden, or just leave it plain.
- As long as you have the magnetic tape you can use just about anything as magnets. I bought some little lightweight figures from Michaels, I cut out some pictures from a “thick” Berenstain Bear book we had, I will probably cut out some pictures of grandparents and cousins this weekend. Using the magnetic tape, just cut a piece and stick it to the back of the figure and there ya go. A magnet. I also prefer this tape because they are long strips and not able to be swallowed by little ones.
- Secure frame to wall and that is your stylish magnet board.
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