learning board blocks
Cognitive Learning,  Early Learning,  Free Printables,  Toddler Activites

Easy Learning Boards Your Toddler Will Love

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Learning Boards are the absolute best! I have been using them for years and don’t plan to stop. This simple idea is one of my all time favorites for toddler activities and it transfers over into preschool as well. It’s one of the go to’s of the many activities my son participates in from day to day.

(Flashback) My 25 month old at the time has been enjoyed the following learning boards nearly SIX months. Take a look!

What Are Learning Boards?

The learning board is simply a “life sized” poster board that can include basically any subject you feel is helpful for your child.

I chose to do letters and numbers on one board, colors and shapes on another, and sight words on the last. However,  some may like to do sensory items or just something fun and silly. Be creative!

learning boards

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How To Make Toddler Learning Board

This project took me about one hour to complete and I got so much more play time from it than I’ve gotten from many of the toys I’ve bought in the past. Seriously. And there are two options.

You can definitely buy an amazing toddler learning poster kit like one here if drawing and crafts are not your thing, or you can take some time out and do it yourself.

I have to say with these learning boards in general, my child really grew an interest for what he was learning and developed an awesome love of learning new concepts at a young age. If you want more ideas for activities, check out my preschool learning activity post. Learning toys can be great as well so make sure you check out my 2020 list of keep toddlers busy toddler learning toys as well.

sight words board

So here are my steps on how to start a home-made learning poster:

1.Locate you local Dollar Tree stat!

2. Buy as many boards as you want. Three boards cost me $1.50! Just make sure they are the solid, sturdy, boards, NOT the ones that are bendable. (I have used the bendable boards many time, I just prefer the stiff boards for the younger kids)

3. Obtain whichever flashcards your toddler may enjoy but haven’t mastered yet. I spent $2 on shapes and sight word flashcards but there are so many other subjects you can choose from. We are talking math, reading, science, colors, and even more advanced material for the older kids.

4. Grab any other supplies you may like. For me it was $1 on markers, and $2 on sticky letters. That’s it! $6 dollars total.

5. This is the fun part. Put whatever you want on the boards! I’ve done the alphabet, numbers, colors, shapes, days of the week, days of the months, sight words, and also his name!

 

The Benefits of Learning Boards for Kids

1.My son absolutely adored these boards! They are light weight, so we would walk

into the room and he would make a beeline straight to the boards and bring them to me or  he would just sit on the board and play. Can we say independent playtime and a rest for mommy? 🙂 

2. Our toddlers are like little sponges! They will pick up the information fast without any coaching. If it is your desire to start the learning process of this type, this is a great method and actually perfect for any age.

3. NO MESS!

My Daughter’s Learning Board Steps

Now this is a few years later and I involved my daughter in the process as well. (somewhat).

Here are a few tips when making your learning boards! Then check out the pics below!!

1.Always use pencil first! Trust me, you will be erasing at least a couple of times.

2. Try to map things out first. Get a plan for what you want to do.

3. Use a ruler if you have one available. Straight lines will make things look much better.

4. If your child is with you, try to have another board for them to draw on! That way they will not feel left out or feel like they are not having fun.

5. Be creative! I used glitter for Skyla’s name and used print outs for the seasons. Here’s a great example from guruparents.com

seasons chart

6. Try to choose age appropriate content for your learning board and make it fun!

7. Don’t count on perfection! Every single time I do a learning board, I do something that I wish i didn’t do. Maybe I made the letters too big or used the wrong color. It’s okay! Toddlers don’t care about perfection, Thank God! 🙂

 

Be sure to check out the video below if you want more ideas for your learning boards! This is a really cute design with stickers. The options are really endless. Also, make sure to check out some of my other Keep Toddlers Busy posts on inspiring your child to love learning, sticker sorting, and dollar store arts and crafts as well!

 

I really hope that you enjoy a snapshot of the learning board activity that I love so much. It’s really so simple and the benefits can last for literally a lifetime. What are some ways that you introduce concepts to your toddler? Please let me know in the comment section below!

Also, if you like this post even just a little, please feel free to share! At the bottom of this post and the left side of this page, there are all sorts of wonderful buttons for sharing on the social media avenue of your choice hehe 🙂 I appreciate it!

Enjoy!

Keep Toddlers Busy

Learning Boards for Toddlers Teaching is a great way to teach kids to read. Take a look at these toddler activities for two year olds and three year olds for inspiration!

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12 Comments

  • Vanessa

    These DIY learning boards are great ideas! Although educational toys from the store are nice, this goes to show that you don’t have to be spending so much money for your kids to have fun and learn at the same time.

    I noticed that you wrote the days of the week on one learning board. Does your child knows how to read them? How does he know the days of the week when he sees the board? It is just memorization? I hope my questions are clear.

    • Kayla

      Hi Vanessa! I amazes me everyday that are little children are such sponges. It started of with my son just pointing at different letters or words on the board. I would just recite whichever one he pointed. Then he started pointing to them in order and before I knew it he was pointing an reciting them on his own. That was only a few weeks! Now he recognizes the words everywhere like he would with other smaller sight words.

  • Merry

    Hi Kayla and thank you for such a great post. Kids are like sponges and I think as adults we forget. I had a daycare and we did some awesome fun activities and it did not cost anything. We made things and invented others. Sometimes the costs were there of course, but children are amazing and love doing and making things and then playing or learning from them.

  • Katie

    Vanessa, I love this idea! What a great visual learning tool that makes toddlers enjoy learning from a young age and enables moms to have some much-needed free time to get things done. A win-win! Thanks for your creativity – busy moms need it!

  • Joy

    Hi, cool concept. i really like the idea of surrounding your child with opportunities to learn in an everyday setting. Is there any particular reason you made certain letters different colors in some words?

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