Things to do with rubber bands

Moomin’s friend “Good Landru” has a toy that is basically a board with some nails around the edge and a bunch of different colors and sizes of rubber band. This is going to be my next craft project with Moomin. I ordered this to start with,

Rubber Band Ball kit

Which is nifty looking in itself and he might enjoy. Clearly it is just a big pack of rubber bands with instructions that say “Wrap these suckers around each other till they’re all gone” but unlike so many gimmicky toys, it’s cheap – only 4 bucks. So, I ordered it, it’ll come in the mail as a surprise, and then I can rummage around for a board.

***

rubber bands

We got the rubber bands! I still don’t have a board, but we made a great shoebox guitar and a sort of giant box-zither thing. I realized that Moomin doesn’t know anything about scales, or what a third is, or anything about music theory. He might like it.

My plan for the board is:

1 board about 1 foot square and maybe 1/2″ to 3/4″ thick
32 nails (I think finish nails will work best)

9 nails to a side, gives good scope for making complex rubber band patterns.

I’m not sure if finishing nails, with almost no head to them, will be best or not, so I might get a few other kinds for an experiment.

Anyway, I highly recommend a big bag of multicolored rubber bands – it has a lot of possibility for projects.

Watch out that your cats don’t eat the rubber bands!

14 thoughts on “Things to do with rubber bands

  1. I had forgotten about this activity which I also enjoyed when I was little. Thanks for reminding me. I hope I can make some of these, too!!

  2. I had forgotten about this activity which I also enjoyed when I was little. Thanks for reminding me. I hope I can make some of these, too!!

  3. Oh my goodness, I had one of these when I was little! I *loved* playing with it. I’d totally forgotten, too. 🙂

  4. Oh my goodness, I had one of these when I was little! I *loved* playing with it. I’d totally forgotten, too. 🙂

  5. The one we made has a board that is just a bit too thin and nails a bit too small. We’re going to try again with a 3/4 inch thick board and some 3D or 4D nails. I went to the hardware store and found some circles of wood, so I think we’ll have an interesting time next weekend marking it off with a pencil and protractor to figure out where to put in the nails!

  6. The one we made has a board that is just a bit too thin and nails a bit too small. We’re going to try again with a 3/4 inch thick board and some 3D or 4D nails. I went to the hardware store and found some circles of wood, so I think we’ll have an interesting time next weekend marking it off with a pencil and protractor to figure out where to put in the nails!

  7. ALERT…If you still consider your children to be YOURS.

    Most of us are not aware that a threat to our parental rights is close to being ratified in the U.N. under an International Treaty Law. The whole story is too complex to post in forums. Suffice it to say that you will no longer be in charge of your children’s education, discipline and more. I urge you NOT to ignore this. Please check it out here:

    http://www.parentalrights.org/index.asp?Type=NONE&SEC={520635A0-D52D-4DA9-8AE7-CA574A3228F0}

    And please share this info too.

  8. ALERT…If you still consider your children to be YOURS.

    Most of us are not aware that a threat to our parental rights is close to being ratified in the U.N. under an International Treaty Law. The whole story is too complex to post in forums. Suffice it to say that you will no longer be in charge of your children’s education, discipline and more. I urge you NOT to ignore this. Please check it out here:

    http://www.parentalrights.org/index.asp?Type=NONE&SEC={520635A0-D52D-4DA9-8AE7-CA574A3228F0}

    And please share this info too.

  9. Actually Sue, you totally picked the wrong blog here. I don’t consider my child to be mine, I consider him to be a person with human rights. And I support the CRC and the idea of international law.

    From your web site, here are some of the principles you are fighting:

    # Parents would no longer be able to administer reasonable spankings to their children.
    # A murderer aged 17 years, 11 months and 29 days at the time of his crime could no longer be sentenced to life in prison.
    # Children would have the ability to choose their own religion while parents would only have the authority to give their children advice about religion.
    # The best interest of the child principle would give the government the ability to override every decision made by every parent if a government worker disagreed with the parent’s decision.
    # A child’s “right to be heard” would allow him (or her) to seek governmental review of every parental decision with which the child disagreed.
    # According to existing interpretation, it would be illegal for a nation to spend more on national defense than it does on children’s welfare.
    # Children would acquire a legally enforceable right to leisure.
    # Christian schools that refuse to teach “alternative worldviews” and teach that Christianity is the only true religion “fly in the face of article 29” of the treaty.
    # Allowing parents to opt their children out of sex education has been held to be out of compliance with the CRC.
    # Children would have the right to reproductive health information and services, including abortions, without parental knowledge or consent.

    I agree with the CRC as I understand it, 100%.

    Actually, this needs its own post.

  10. Actually Sue, you totally picked the wrong blog here. I don’t consider my child to be mine, I consider him to be a person with human rights. And I support the CRC and the idea of international law.

    From your web site, here are some of the principles you are fighting:

    # Parents would no longer be able to administer reasonable spankings to their children.
    # A murderer aged 17 years, 11 months and 29 days at the time of his crime could no longer be sentenced to life in prison.
    # Children would have the ability to choose their own religion while parents would only have the authority to give their children advice about religion.
    # The best interest of the child principle would give the government the ability to override every decision made by every parent if a government worker disagreed with the parent’s decision.
    # A child’s “right to be heard” would allow him (or her) to seek governmental review of every parental decision with which the child disagreed.
    # According to existing interpretation, it would be illegal for a nation to spend more on national defense than it does on children’s welfare.
    # Children would acquire a legally enforceable right to leisure.
    # Christian schools that refuse to teach “alternative worldviews” and teach that Christianity is the only true religion “fly in the face of article 29” of the treaty.
    # Allowing parents to opt their children out of sex education has been held to be out of compliance with the CRC.
    # Children would have the right to reproductive health information and services, including abortions, without parental knowledge or consent.

    I agree with the CRC as I understand it, 100%.

    Actually, this needs its own post.

  11. Hiya!
    I saw a post of yours on Blog Her and decided to check out your blog. My son has a disability and I noticed you mentioned the subject in your post there. I’m trying to connect with others in the community to have more to offer my guy. I love your blog! I write poetry myself on another blog. Nice to see a fellow mama poet!

  12. Hiya!
    I saw a post of yours on Blog Her and decided to check out your blog. My son has a disability and I noticed you mentioned the subject in your post there. I’m trying to connect with others in the community to have more to offer my guy. I love your blog! I write poetry myself on another blog. Nice to see a fellow mama poet!

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