DIY--nut & bolt board

The nut and bolt board can be found with 5 to 7 nuts and bolts in varying sizes going from largest to smallest sticking up or through a board. It is a practical life activity that develops fine motor skills and the pincher grasp for indirect preparation of writing. 

The bolts do not move so the sole action in the activity is removing and replacing the nuts. We did not know about this activity when Delores was 2 so when Lydia mastered opening and closing lids to jars and lids to boxes it was time to move to this activity. 

Now in my last post "DIY--Sandpaper numbers," I stated it was more cost efficient to just buy it. In this instance however, that was not the case. Plus Josh was looking forward to doing this himself when I told him about it.

Here was our supply list:

Wooden block measuring 8.5 in long x 2.5 in wide x 1.5 in deep--FREE from Lowes. I'm not saying your Lowes will give this to you for free but if they can just give this piece of scrap wood away I can't imagine it costs very much.

5 nuts & 5 matching nuts (1/4, 5/16, 3/8, 1/2, and 5/8 of an inch) from Lowes--under $10.00. 

Small bottle of Gorilla glue from Lowes--$5.00

5/8 spade (wood-boring) drill bit from Walmart--$5.00**

Total: $20.00

The cheapest one I found (pictured first at the top of this post) was from Early School Materials for $19.50 not including shipping.  (http://www.earlyschoolmaterials.com/practical_life/five_bolt_board.html).

Another one I found (pictured second at the top of the post) was from JMPlearning.com for $31.95 not including shipping. (http://www.jmplearning.com/JS_2068_Seven_Bolt_Board_p/js-2068.htm)

We already had the 4 other drill bits so we didn't have that additional purchase. If you don't already have the drill bits you may come out better buying the block unless of course you want to add to you collection of tools and want a project. 

Josh made a grid on the back of the block with pencil to mark where each nut would be placed. A line in the middle the whole length of the block and then 5 lines the same distance apart intersecting the first horizontal line. Then drill through the back at each intersecting points. Put some glue in the holes and insert the bolts. 

After drying we notice the heads of the bolts caused the block to lay lopsided because the 5/8th was so large. To fix this problem he used some scrap pieces of wood to glue to each side of the bolts to level out the block. 

You could just use two pieces along each side but for some reason he wanted to do it this way. It works fine so why nit pick? Put the nuts on the bolts and... Ta da! 

Also, you can see that the gorilla glue expands and leaks out but you could easily shave this off with a razor blade. We didn't because I wanted to use it with Lydia immediately but we probably will take that step eventually. 

This is what it looks like now:

I still have plans to apply some high gloss polyurethane to it because I want it to look inviting, professional and because I'm a little OCD like that. 

Lydia has thoroughly enjoyed it and it was cheaper for us to make than to buy so all in all a win-win situation. 

** Josh just found one of these on Lowes' website for $3.78. So do all your research for the cheapest materials in your area unless you are a one stop shop person. 

(Trying to) Slow things down

Last week I talked about use getting out of the house more and socializing with other people, but this week I discovered that after all that busyness last week,and with the holiday weekend, we all felt like we needed to take it slow this week and just recover from all of it. Apparently the girls get just as worn out from going as I do. 

Pretending to nap on the couch. 

I still prepared activities and trays to put on the shelf but I let the girls decide when they wanted to work. I think we finally got to some on Thursday. Lydia wanted to do more than Delores but lessons still didn't last more than about 30 minutes. Here are some shots from this week. 

Musical sound bottles made from glass yoo-hoo bottles. 

They come 4 in a pack so they worked out perfectly and Josh and I got to enjoy a childhood favorite. :) Here she is playing only every other one on the musical scale. You can find information for how much water to put in for each scale on ehow.com: http://www.ehow.com/how_5104489_make-music-water-glasses.html#page=0

Playing with the new fingerprint we got. Somehow she decided it would be a good idea to paint her body though. :)

Working with the nut and bolt board daddy made. 

She loved this. I even caught her standing beside her shelf and spinning the nuts on her shelf and then walking away. As a matter of fact she just came and got it off the shelf to work on as I am writing this. 

Realized she could wear the biggest one (5/8 of 1 in) like a ring.

Delores' turn

Working with sandpaper numbers mommy and daddy made.

She did well. She already knew 1 & 2, but did well with 3. Alas, she was done after a brief 3 period lesson.

Lydia's turn. She just had fun playing with these. 

Three period lessons don't work with her right now (very common for 2 year olds) so she just kind of did her own lesson.

*I'm going to try to do a separate post on both of the activities Josh and I made to go into more detail of how you can make your own.*

After that Lydia did some matching with paper clips and picture cards. 

Delores also did some name tracing with the new tracing paper we got. 

I made the name cards by typing their first and last names in Lucida Handwritiing font in the biggest size, cutting and pasteing their first and last name back to back on an index card, trimming down the index card and then laminated each side of the card using laminating contact paper you can buy by the roll where you find other contact paper and drawer liners (best purchase I ever made). 

Here's a close up

 

And her finished product. 

It feels like we didn't do much because we didn't spend much time in front of a mat, but when you look back through all the pictures we still did a good bit. This is really what montessori homeschooling is all about. For most of us having shelves everywhere and keeping all our materials out at one time just isn't practical nor do we have the space. When the principles are applied to everything in your life however, it doesn't really matter how much time you spend in front of a mat or how much money you spend or how much space you have the lessons still sneak themselves in somehow. I just love that.