One of the exciting times in childhood is when kids discover letters and enjoy finding and identifying them in their world. Make a Mat is a wonderful addition to mealtime as kids learn from their placemat. A child’s name is one of the first places that they identify and learn letters as they see their name in different places in the classroom and home. Adults can customize the mat with a child’s name from 17 styles of hand drawn artwork  from angels, dinos and mermaids to robots. We chose “children” because the illustrations provided so much opportunity to describe and talk about what the kids were doing within the letters. Our little Hattie (3 1/2 years old) jumped for joy when she opened her mat. She immediately started identifying the letters in her name and telling us what the children were doing in the illustrations–giggling, climbing, sliding and swinging on a tire swing! She started to look for more letters that she knew that outlined the mat. Big brother (6 years old) joined in the fun too. We know that kids learn more within their everyday experiences, not flashcards.  Make a Mat is a wonderful way to integrate mealtime with literacy learning.

Available at Make a Mat. Click here