Thursday, March 29, 2012

Rainy Day Craft : Bongo Boards

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If you've come from Sharon at  Simply Sweet by Sharon, you're in the right place.  If not, please jump back to Jenny's blog to start at the beginning... you don't want to miss a stop!

Today, my boys and I have this super fun indoor project to share with you. It's wonderful for those rainy weekend days when the kiddos have lots of extra energy to burn!
We found this project in the Family Fun Magazine (it was in the February issue). My boys were so excited, we ran out to Lowes right away!  These bongo boards are fun balancing toys that are easy to use inside or out. The idea is to balance on the board with both ends in the air, centered on the PVC tube.

To make one bongo board, you'll need:
Pencil and ruler
a board (10"- 12" wide by 36" long)
Duct tape (colors or patterns are wonderful)
a pool noodle (left over from summer is fine)
glue gun and glue sticks
PVC pipe (2" or 3" around and 36" long) with matching end caps
PVC glue (optional)

Your first step is to glue the end caps onto the PVC pipe and let them dry.
Next, apply the duct tape to the board. Leave a 1 1/2" of each end without tape... this will make it easier to attach the padded ends to the board. Stripes are easy enough to do, but you could make patterns or other designs too. You could hand paint stripes or patterns too, but as my 7 year-old says, "Duct tape is better 'cause you can play right away and not wait for the paint to dry!"

Cut a pool noodle to fit the end of your board. Use hot glue to attach it. The pool noodle is used to protect your floor when the bongo board is being used. See the next picture for more details:

First cut the pool noodle to length and then split it down the side. This is how it'll look. Glue the long ends of the pool noodle that touch the board.

Okay, by now you have the basic bongo board. If your crafty family is anything like mine, you're not done yet!! My boys and I used my Cricut and vinyl to customize the boards. We had a BLAST on this step!

Here is my 9 year-old, Bryce's board. He cut lots of white stars and scattered them all over. His name is 2" cut from Life's a Party.

My 7-year-old went with a rockstar look!! We cut the guitar out in two pieces (a total size of 24") and cut his  name out too (2"). All cuts are from Life's a Party. He used some left over white stars to finish off his bongo board. He loves that it doubles as a play guitar! :)

And here are the Bongo Boards in action!! 

Don't they look like they are having a BLAST!

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13 comments:

Bobby said...

What a neat idea. I'm sure the boys love it.

KardsbyKadie said...

This project idea is going straight to my daughters email for her to make for my grandsons. FABULOUS IDEA Cathy and how much more simple could it be. Love how you decorated the top with the help of your Cricut. TOO CUTE. Many thanks for sharing!

Lisa's Creative Niche said...

These are awesome!!! My little ones aren't quite big enough yet, but I hope I can remember this when they are, because this would def. keep them busy at least for a little while... so cool! Thanks for sharing!
Lisa
PS - I think I'm going to star this page as a favorite so I can come back to it! Thanks again!

littlen said...

terrific idea. looks like lots of fun and great exercise. tfs.
littlen44 at gmail dot com

Pink Lady's Paradise said...

Great idea and great using the Cricut to decorate them! I really like that magazine. I just ordered it for my son's family!

Thanks for the inspiration,
Cindy :)

Leah said...

This is such a neat idea. I however couldn't do this with my little one. He has balance issues. The boys however look like they're having so much fun. Thank you for sharing.

Leah
leah@leahscarddesigns.com

Simply Sweet by Sharon said...

Cheryl~ I always love the ideas you and your boys come up with. This would of been great when my daughters were little to bad they have to grow up. LOL

sharonlittrell@earthlink.net

Rae Ann said...

Those boards really came to life once the cuts were decorating them. Great job!
Rae Ann O.
http://joyinart.blogspot.com
raeannoh@aol.com

Tanya said...

WOWZERS!!! What a great idea!! I think when my lil guy gets a lil bigger and his balance improves.. this will DEFINITELY be on our craft list!! Thanks sooo much for this wonderful idea!!

Hugs,
Tanya

My 3 E Scrapbooking said...

These are awesome! The girls are going to want to make these ASAP!!
Amber

Georgiana said...

Your title Bongo Board was intriguing. I had to come look and see what you were making this time. These look awesome! I could see PE using them.

Hope you will stop by our Embossing Hop today.
Georgiana
Carson's Creations

Dawn Marie said...

I love this idea! My son has right hemplegic cerebral palsy due to an in utero stroke and I think this would be awesome for kids like him to use not only to have fun but also for balance therapy! We will definitely be making one of our own (well, actually 4 since his 3 siblings will be sure to want one, too) :-)

Anonymous said...

I saw this in Family Fun's July issue, but could not find the instructions - even on their website. Thanks for the post. This will help my five year old with his balance issues. Just what we needed.