Play: DIY latch (and lock) boards

Lil J loves fiddling with things. He loves tinkering and has taken apart some of our stuff (unfortunately!), so I thought a latch board would be something he would enjoy. Melissa and Doug actually has a pretty nice latch board (affiliate link), which allow the child to see how the latches work in relation to the doors, but I wanted to DIY one since that gives you more options. 

So I asked the FIL to help me get all sorts of locks and latches from Malaysia (where its cheaper!), and we bought 2 sheets of MDF from Art Friend (Daiso also sells MDF, but it is thinner, thus the boards are not so suitable). Then one afternoon the hubby and my FIL started assembling the boards for me, while Lil J tried to help. It was interesting to see three generations of males in the family working on the boards together. :)

Putting these together is simple: you just need to arrange your locks and latches, bearing in mind that there should be ample space between them to allow room for your child to work with each lock/latch. Then you just need to drill holes and screw everything down with little screws. We hung some locks on handles, and tied the keys to handle using yarn. 

If you'd like more ideas on what you could put on your latch boards, you can visit this link. Lil J has been fiddling with the boards off and on every day, so I think they would be great for any little kid with itchy fingers!