Easy DIY Learning Tower

This year I became friends with a mom who had recently moved back to Canada from England. In her kitchen she had a learning tower that her dad had built -- learning towers are all the rage in the UK but haven't seemed to catch on in Canada yet. A learning tower allows your toddler to stand at the counter to observe and participate in the kitchen. It is based on the Montessori model of education that encourages independence in learning. Now, I didn't realize that at first -- I just knew it would help to keep my very busy toddler entertained. Which is normally a pretty exhausting feat each day.

 

Learning towers go for around $200 online. Whoa. Not in our budget. So after almost resigning myself to the fact that I wasn't going to get a learning tower for Gemma, I decided to ask my hubby (who, like myself, isn't much of a DIYer) to make one, and I am so glad I asked.

Gemma just loves standing on her learning tower. It was a hit from the moment we brought it in from the garage. She will stand on it and help me make my coffee in the morning by taking the lid off the coffee can and putting a scoop of grinds in the French press. She pretends to cook by stirring and whisking uncooked macaroni noodles, and practices scooping up the noodles and dumping them in another bowl. When she gets really excited, she plays a fun game where she throws the macaroni on the floor and mommy or daddy pick it all up (sound like a toddler much?). Yes, some of this newfound freedom has backfired, but for the most part Gemma seems to be learning lots by observing and "helping" mommy in the kitchen. I've been especially impressed with her improved use of utensils. She holds her own fork and spoon better now that she's used measuring cups and practiced scooping.

Now, with anything you build for children, parental supervision is a must. I know you know this, but I thought the reminder wouldn't hurt. You will need to move any potential dangers, of which there are many in a kitchen, way out of your child's reach. When she stands by the cutting board, I put the knife block on the other side of the kitchen. When she's by the toaster, I make sure it is unplugged. That kind of thing. Also be watching carefully that they don't try to climb on the counters. Some of you have climbers. And I can't imagine the stress your climber causes you each day. And despite all the barriers on this learning tower, toddlers have a knack for hurting themselves. So just stay near them.

The rest of this post comes from my wonderful husband who I must admit surprised me with his handyman skills here. I have now come up with a whole list of new projects for him to tackle (shh... I haven't told him yet!).

To handy hubbies and towering toddlers,
♥ Dion

DIY Learning Tower - Step by Step Instructions

This summer my wife asked me to build a learning tower for our 18 month old daughter.  Being not a handy man, I was a little nervous.  On my wife's advice I looked to Pinterest to get a few ideas, and after a bit of looking, found one that I thought looked both good and pretty simple.  It uses an Ikea BEKVAM stool for a base, with a fabricated railing set up on top.  Here's how it was done.

 

 

1) Picked up the stool from IKEA

2) Purchased materials from Home Depot.  Some of these materials I already had, but the list below has everything I used:

-1.5" x 1.5" x 7'

-3/4" x 3.5" x 5'

-dowel 11/16" x 1.5'

-these measurements should give you a bit of wiggle room, but not a lot if you need to redo cuts

-small box of 2 1/2" wood screws and 1 1/2" wood screws

-wood filler

-fine grit sand paper

-spray paint primer (2 cans to cover)

-coloured spray paint (this wasn't bought at Home Depot because they didn't have the right colour.  We ended up buying from Serres: Liquitex paint - Phthalocyanine Green 7.  (2 cans but I may have been able to do it with 1)

-clear, spray paint sealant (satin finish)

3) Tools needed:

-skill saw

-drill and bits

-saw horses

-tape measure

-square

-pencil

-wood bore bit (11/16")

4) Cut the wood to length and assemble

-the posts that stand vertically on top of the stool are 1.5" x 1.5" x 16.5" (the 16.5" makes the tower flush with our countertop.  Be sure to measure the height of your counter to ensure that the tower is not too tall, or short; the IKEA stool is 20" tall when assembled by itself).  CUT 4

-I then attached the four posts to the top side of the upper step of the BEKVAM stool using the 2 1/2" wood screws (see photo).  I drilled pilot holes in through the bottom of the stool into the vertical posts, and then attached them.

NOTE: I did not fully assemble the BEKVAM stool until the very end, as you can see in the photo.

-I also used the same 1.5" x 1.5" wood for the lower braces on the sides of the tower; mine were 6 5/8" long but yours maybe be different, depending on how close you place the vertical posts to the corner on the top of the stool.  CUT 2.  I attached mine with 2 1/2" screws 6 1/2" from the top of the stool.

-next you should drill the hole for the dowel.  I drilled mine through the two vertical posts at the back using an 11/16" wood bit.  Drill right through both posts and when you attach the top railings, it will cover up the holes and hold the dowel in place.

-the dowel I used was 11/16" but 5/8" would work fine too.  I cut it at 14 1/8" but again be sure to measure yours because it's length will depend on how far your four vertical posts are apart from each other. Insert the dowel before you attach the top support rails

-the rails around the top and front are 3/4" x 3.5".  The side rails are 10 1/4" (CUT 2) and the front rails are 13 3/4". CUT 2

-I attached them as shown in the photos using 1 1/2" screws.  Be sure that the screws you use are not too long that they go right through the wood and poke out, and that they do not hit other screws you've used to attach other pieces and possibly split the wood.

-I then used wood filler to fill the screw holes and sanded them down.  I repeated this one more time, and also gave the rest of the pieces a quick sand to smooth out any rough parts, especially on any exposed cut surfaces

-finally, I assembled the BEKVAM stool and attached the upper structure to the rest of the stool

5) Paint

-first I primed the learning tower

-sanded it down in some areas and primed any spots I missed

-painted with the coloured paint (1-2 coats to touch up)

-finally, sealed with clear spray paint satin finish, to give it a somewhat shiny (not too shiny) finish, which should make it easy to clean.

That's it.  It was a really fun, simple project.  And if it was something that this unhandy man could complete, pretty much anyone can.

Adapted from mintinthemiddle.com and ikeahackers.net