Placemats for Kids

I don't know about you all, but my kids become the most clingy eager to help when I have one pan full of sizzling oil and the other mincing garlic with our most deadly edged knife.  Pre-dinner hunger combined with disengaged preschoolers can be a recipe for madness.

To direct my children's actions, we made  placemats for them.  They love to set the table. Their participation in our meal makes them feel valued and proud. And it is genuinely very helpful to me as well!

Depending on how much you craft, you may have all of the necessary supplies already.

Materials

• piece of scrap fabric often sold for quilting at craft stores
• clear contact paper
• scrapbooking paper
• glue dots (used for scrapbooking)

1.  Choose the paper

2. Lay out the fabric you've chosen

3. Cut out the shapes

4.  Put everything in place with a glue dot. Though this isn't going to hold the shapes in place for any length of time, you really just want something to keep things from sliding around as you move the fabric.

5.  Then cover with contact paper on both sides.

6.  Have fun using them!

My children love this!!! I didn't worry about making a proper place setting, but rather concentrated on how we dress our table for each meal. It's both fun for them and helpful to me.  I really enjoyed making it because I was able to play with different materials.  On top of fabric and paper, consider using yarn and felt.

Anna Holler is a highly caffeinated stay-at-home mom who lives with her family in Philadelphia. She spends her free time crafting and knitting while waiting patiently for skinny jeans and leggin's to become unfashionable. You can also find her at The Happy Knitter and Mama Eats Her Peas.

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