Directions: 1. Saw a square of wood from a 1x10 board 9 inches long. 2. Draw on a matrix of dots-- 5 rows of 5 dots or more dots if you like. 3. Hammer a small nail into each dot. Make sure it goes in about 1/2 way. 4. Sand the comers of the board. 5. Sign and date your new game.

Store the rubberbands in a small dish or basket with the geo board on the shelf. Why is it important to have a storage place for a child's toy?

Collect colored rubberbands to add to the fun. Where are places to find rubberbands?

Developmental Play with the Geo Board
Babies This is NOT a good toy for babies. They might eat the rubberbands!

Toddlers like to stretch a rubberband in between their hands and put it over the nails. They might stretch 5 rubberbands over the same nails. That is a normal toddler game. You can show them how to use one finger to make a line into a triangle. They also might like to make "music" by flicking the rubberband.

Preschoolers can start with making shapes. Parents can add their names as they make them. Over time, kids will learn the names just by you giving the name to them. You will not have to drill them!

Then preschoolers will enjoy making designs. Colored rubberbands and rubberbands of different thickness are fun to play with.

DRAW EACH OF THE SHAPES so that you can teach them to the children

Triangle,	square,	rectangle,
hexagon,	rhombus or diamond
octagon,	trapezoid,	parallelogram,

4 5 and 6 year olds can make letters with the rubberbands, too. They can play tic tac toe.

Elementary school children can make designs with the rubberbands. They can "draw" pictures and the colored rubberbands help. This age group also can practice addition and subtraction, and learn simple multiplication and division operations.

Parents can practice their own homework on the geo board, too.
How could you use the pegboard to learn about perimeter and area?

Geo Board Materials List

• Board: lx10 or lxl2 pine 9 inches long per game
• Nails: 1" brass escutcheon pins work the best. They have a nice thickness and a small round smooth head. Brads tend to bend so you must pound them in at least 1/2 way. Sometimes the heads are rough. Regular nails are thick but you will have to find ones with small heads.
• Rubberbands in assorted sizes thickness and colors
• Hammer
• Saw
• Sandpaper
• Permanent Marker

Sawing a straight line across the 9 or 11" of board is difficult. Have parents watch that they do not pull the saw blade toward their bodies if they use a right-handed back and forth motion. They can try a two handed motion down the center line of the body to the belly button.

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