Lap Geoboards

Geoboards are another homeschooling favorite that translate well to the interactive, multi-modal, free-choice R.E. classroom (such as Spirit Play!), or even as a during-service, quiet, independent activity for younger children.

We'll likely use them as the latter in our church, because that is where there is the greatest present need for some creativity.

These were super easy to make. Took me about four hours total, from store shopping to finished product.

Here are the supplies for making a set of 4:

(4) 7x9 inch blank pine plaque, $2-3 each
pushpins, $3-4 for a pack of 200
30-pack of colorful, no-snag hair elastics, $3-4

I looked up a one-inch grid online, then put a blank piece of paper onto my computer screen and made dots on the paper, enough to fit on my plaque.

I laid the piece of paper over my plaque and felt around the edges, trying to get the dots pretty well centered on the plaque. With a wee bit of ease around the edges, I ended up with 6 by 8 one-inch dots.

Once the dot paper was well positioned, I took one pushpin and pushed through the paper and a little bit into the wood, which made the marks exactly where they needed to be. I did this for all the dots, being careful not to shift the paper. (You could also actually push in a pin or two at the corners to be sure your paper won't slip.)

Then, I took off the paper and pushed individual pins in by hand where I saw the marks. I will admit, my thumb got pretty sore! That's a lot of pins by your 3rd or 4th geoboard. Some pins were harder than others to push in (especially those around a knot in the wood), so I used a hammer to come afterward and gently tap all of them down flush. You have to be careful, though, because I got a little carried away with one and broke the plastic off the top of the pin, and it was a doozy getting that sucker pried back up with a butter knife. So gentle as it goes with the hammer.

My hope is to put the geoboard and a set of six or so colored bands in small baskets that kids could take as they enter the sanctuary and then have in their laps during service. I can see some potential pitfalls here--if kids tried to pry up the pushpins (very hard to do, but possible) and if kids used the geoboards like slingshots to zip the elastics all over (which was the second thing my kids did with them, after making pictures of swords). But, like anything else, we'll assume the best and most creative use of the materials, help the kids understand how to act in ways that are kind to those around them while sharing a space, and be patient as they learn and grow.