Activity Mat

I was working in my church's nursery for boys and girls age 18 months- 3 years. We had zero budget to buy or maintain toys for the children's play time.  SO what do you do when the kids are bored with the current toys?  Aside from raiding your own children's toy box.... you create something.

I was given the idea that perhaps we could make a car mat (like the colorful rugs for matchbox cars) from a tablecloth.  And while that is good... I figured, if I was going to make one, I might as well go big. 

I purchased a rectangle plastic tablecloth (the kind with a cotton fuzzy back) at Wal-Mart for $3.00.  I then picked up some colored duck tape from the dollar store.  I drew out my plan on a sheet of printer paper.

I got fancy with buildings that the children from church hear about so that as they mature, they could use the mat to help encourage creativity - make up stories, etc.  It could also be used to teach the children.  And since I know that children can never all agree on what to play... I divided the large table cloth into 2 sides.  One side was the "town" for small cars and the other was a hopscotch pad.

This is cheap and simple to make - takes NO special talent or tools.  This works best when laid out on a rug because the backing helps "hold" it to the rug.  If you plan to use on tile or hardwood, I would add a little carpet tape (rubber on one side, tape on the other) to help hold it in place.