A Mom/Occupational Therapist’s Guide to Making Sensory Boards & Cards

When my oldest daughter was around six months old, she began to sit independently. As wonderful as it was to witness her meeting a new milestone, I very quickly learned that this new skill came with its own set of obstacles. No longer was my little lady content to play with her infant toys. The mama in me knew that I wanted to find a way to entertain her effectively, allowing me to tend to household needs. The homemaker in me knew that I didn’t want to spend a small fortune on pre-made activity centers that she would quickly grow out of in order to achieve this goal. Lastly, the occupational therapist in me knew that I wanted the activity to involve both sensory and practical elements.

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This knowledge led me to grab my kiddo and head to the Dollar Tree for a field trip and a plan to build a sensory board!

(Don’t have a baby of your own? Continue reading because this craft would make for a wonderful gift for those babies in your life whether you are a grandparent, aunt/uncle, sibling or friend!)

While walking the aisles of the store, I decided to focus on items that seemed to draw my baby girl’s attention most. If she lit up when seeing it, it went into the cart (bright colors won every time). I then decided to focus on items that would require her to use finger manipulation and fine motor skills, along with fun new textures. Lastly, I wanted items that would expose her to practical use but be able to stand the baby test (i.e. not breakdown if pulled, licked, pinched… if you are a parent of a baby, you know this test all too well) and maintain safety (not include choking hazards). Thirty minutes later, I walked back out of the store with multiple bags, a happy kiddo and a plan.

Not in the mood for going out to the store? Save yourself a trip and shop for endless, AFFORDABLE craft supplies here.

How I built my sensory boards for babies

Turns out I had enough supplies to create TWO sensory boards for babies. While I possibly could have fit everything onto the one board, I know all too well that sensory overload is quite real when it comes to little ones (heck, even for most adults). With that said, I decided less items allowed my little lady to focus on individual items more effectively. Furthermore, two boards allowed me to not overwhelm her with both simultaneously, but rather to swap them out time and time again as her interest began to dwindle with one.

 

SUPPLIES

Poster board (s). While at the Dollar Tree, I decided to pick up two heavy duty poster boards to display the items. As I figured a simple thin poster board would likely not be able to acquire the weight of all the items and would diminish its ability to maintain a propped up position. Update: I now wish I would have purchased these boards here. They are even more heavy duty and come at an awesome price! With time, the weight of the sensory items made the above boards start to sag when propped upward.

Glue gun/sticks. I found it easiest to secure all items to the board with a hot glue gun (just like this one here). You could try double sided sticky tape (this would be the best kind here if using tape) but that definitely would not have held up to my baby’s strange super human strength.

Items for the board. I obtained the majority of my items from the local dollar store, Amazon, and a few items I had lying around the house or in my craft kit.

1. Here is what I included on my boards: (Note: click on the linked items to purchase online and save yourself the time and trip to the store) colorful pom pom balls, colorful paper clips, bright colored measuring spoons, bright colored dish scrubber, textured sponge, colorful fabric cut into fringes, a plastic mirror, a lock (combination written below so adults can open and close. No, I did not expect my baby to be able to do this ;)), colorful clips, a beaded necklace, puffy flower stickers, a fabric doll, bright colored shoelace, wood pig/sun, magnetic bright colored numbers, orange ice pack that had gel inside, puffy book with different colored pages, calculator, large and colorful buttons, and a pill organizer.

 

After playing around with the layout of items, I decided to secure them all down and my sensory boards for babies were finished! I could now prop them up against a wall, couch or wherever the location may be (that is the beauty of these boards in that they go where you go) and allow my curious baby to explore away!

Taking my sensory boards on the GO with sensory cards

After having leftover supplies and seeing the success the sensory boards for babies were bringing about, I decided to turn my sensory board into sensory cards!

I purchased some soft foam sheets and cut to the size of my liking. I decided to once again get out my glue gun and begin hot gluing items to the cards. More than ever I incorporated household items… tin foil, sand paper, etc. The more textures, the better! I placed all cards into a plastic ziplock and decided that these cards would only be used on the go in order to save their interest.

Here is what I included on my cards: colorful magnetic numbers, pasta noodles, different colored beans, sand paper, different textured craft paper, penny/nickel, cut up sponges, puffy stickers, accordion folded paper, tinfoil, paper clips, buttons, cut up fabric/string, color pom-poms balls and fabric cut with fringes. (several repeats from sensory boards above)

I can’t tell you how many times these sensory cards came in handy! Sitting in church, while out to eat, in the doctor’s waiting room… if there was a time we needed to occupy our little lady, out came the cards! Again, not wanting to over-stimulate, I would take one card out at a time and allow her to explore it. As she would grow bored, out came another card! Rarely did we ever have to go all the way through the cards in one session. (Note: I wouldn’t recommend giving these to your child unattended (i.e. on a car ride) unless you are sitting next to them so they wouldn’t somehow pull off a small item and decide to put it into their mouth).

All and all, sensory boards for babies (and cards) get an A+ on my list. I absolutely love the fact that they can be personalized, created without spending a small fortune and allow my kiddo sensory and educational inspired learning!

Now that you have mastered your very own sensory boards for babies (and cards), do you have the creative itch? If so, I would highly recommend checking out Creativebug. I stumbled upon this site and realized just how unreal the quality of their arts & crafts tutorials really were. There are over 1,000 online classes currently available (many of them free!). I wanted to be sure and mass this along to my fellow craft obsessed readers. Click here to check out all available tutorials.

Happy crafting!

Looking for more fun play ideas (this time imaginative play)? Find them here!