As I headed home and was sitting on the plane (10 and ½ hours), it got me thinking about what kinds of things would be useful for families who are traveling long flights to entertain the kids. Considering all the restrictions, such as not too messy, needs to be small and light to pack and customs will not allow certain items onto a plane. Therefore I created these Free Printable Homemade Threading Boards, they are easy to make, small and light to pack, mess free and most importantly will be fun and provide another distraction/activity to entertain the kids on long flights.
What you will need?
You will need shoe laces, paper, laminating sheets, hole punch and our free printable boards.
Once we printed the Threading Boards, I glued them onto another sheet of paper to provide more strength and durability. I then cut them out and laminated them. Once the threading boards were laminated and cut out again, we very carefully used a hole punch to put threading holes into the boards.
Click here to download and print: Printable Threading Shapes
The free printable includes a rainbow, paint palette, glue bottle, 2 buttons and a flower.
Tip: Store the threading boards and shoe laces in a plastic zip lock bag to keep everything together when travelling.
Let’s Play
Some ideas:
- Try the different threading techniques. Up, side over, down, up, side over down etc.
- Another technique to try is around the outside and up through the hole, around and up, etc.
- Repeat the wording as your child completes the threading techniques.
- Match the colours of the shoe laces to the pictures.
Let’s Learn
Learning Opportunities
- Concentration
- Fine Motor Development
- Hand-Eye Coordination and Control
- Problem solving
- Language development
Thank you again, these “on the go” activity ideas are always welcome.
Thanks for the great idea. All prepped and ready to take on our 7 hours of flights with our 20-month-old son. This should help pass some time!
Thanks Kate, have a great flight 🙂