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DIY Busy Toddler Activities (Busy Boards, Felt Boards and More!)

By: Author Jessica Ashcroft

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Check out these easy and fun DIY busy toddler activities, including toddler busy boards, felt boards, and homemade learning activities!

Pinterest graphic with text that reads "Easy DIY Busy Toddler Activities" and a collage of toddler activity ideas.

Wondering how to keep your busy toddler entertained?

We’re here to help!

We’re sharing the best DIY busy toddler activities to engage their little hands and minds!

These homemade ideas will help your toddler learn fine motor skills, concentration, and other developmental milestones, as well as simple number and letter recognition, pattern making, and beyond.

Below, you’ll find easy tutorials, tips, tricks, and inspiration to create fun toddler activities they’ll love!

Table Of Contents
  1. DIY Busy Toddler Activities
  2. Want More?
  3. Your Turn

DIY Busy Toddler Activities

How to Make a Toddler Busy Board

A toddler plays on a busy board in a playroom.

If you’re not familiar with busy boards (also known as an activity board or sensory board), they’re a fun, innovative, and educational way to keep toddlers entertained and off their screens.

Whether DIY or commercially made, these activity boards feature various objects and activities, all attached on a single plane or cube to make it easy for little hands to maneuver.

These boards are designed to entertain and engage toddlers while helping them develop fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, problem-solving abilities, and sensory exploration.

A toddler plays on a homemade busy board with gears, switches, and other hardware materials.

Common features on a toddler busy board include:

  • Locks, latches, clasps, and slides
  • Zippers and button
  • Switches and knobs
  • Old phone accessories
  • Textures
  • Shapes, colors, and numbers
  • Mirrors
  • Wheels and gears

Busy boards are often made of wood or sturdy materials and can be customized based on the toddler’s interests and developmental stage. They provide a safe and fun way for toddlers to explore everyday objects in a controlled environment.

This post by Where the Smiles Have Been shows how to create a simple DIY Busy Board.

A toddler plays with a DIY busy board with various hinges and gadgets.

And, here are some of our favorite ideas from Pinterest:

If you’ve got a scrap piece of wood, a junk drawer, and a drill, you’ve already got the makings of a great entertainment center for your little one!

DIY Felt Board Ideas

Felt boards are another one of our favorite DIY busy activities for toddlers. They’re even easier to put together than busy boards, and the possibilities for themes and settings are endless.

Here are some cute ideas from our friends at Fun Cloth Crafts:

A felt weather busy board with weather images.
A felt boy's face with different features on a white background.
A felt pizza with toppings on a plate with utensils.

And here are some unique and creative ideas from Pinterest:

More Busy Toddler Activities to DIY

Here are some additional easy and fun busy toddler activities you can replicate using craft scraps and budget-friendly dollar store materials.

Get creative with recycled cardboard and bottle caps, pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks, pom poms, craft paper, and more!

Below, you’ll find activity ideas for number matching, color matching, pattern completion, and more.

A toddler plays a DIY number game with paper cones and a cardboard hedgehog.
A Toddler plays a DIY number matching game made from felt and popsicle sticks.
A Toddler puts pom poms into cardboard tubes attached to a paper cutout of a turtle.
A toddler does a DIY color matching activity in the shape of a caterpillar made from different colored bottle caps and mini pom poms.
A toddler does a DIY matching patter activity using cardboard, popsicle sticks, and mini pom poms.
A toddler does a DIY number activity using cardboard and mini pom poms.

Inspiration from Pinterest:

Want More?

Want more simple and fun ideas for toddlers? Try these!

Pinterest graphic with text that reads "DIY Rainy Day Activities for Kids" and a collage of kid's activities.
Pinterest graphic with text that reads "DIY Beach Activities for kids" and a collage of beach activities.
Pinterest graphic with text that reads "DIY Camping Activities for Kids" and a collage of kid's camping activities.
Pinterest graphic with text that reads "Activities for At-Home Summer Camp" and a collage of summer activities for kids.
Pinterest graphic with text that reads "4 Fun Outdoor Scavenger Hunt Ideas for Kids!" and a collage of Printable scavenger hunts.
Pinterest graphic with text that reads "Summer Sensory Activities for Kids" and a collage of sensory bins and sensory play ideas.

Your Turn

What did you think of these DIY busy toddler activities? Are there any ideas you think we should add? Let us know in the comments!