Play mats for kids

After working on quiet activity books I ventured into making small interactive play mats. Basically a single page from a quiet activity book that can roll up for traveling. 

Handmade kids interactive play mats are a type of play mat that is designed to engage children in imaginative play. These mats are typically made from soft, durable materials like felt, and feature a range of colorful designs and patterns that are meant to spark children's creativity and imagination.

One of the key features of play mats is that they are designed to be interactive. This means that they often feature elements that children can manipulate or play with, such as finger puppets, zippers, pockets, or flaps. These interactive elements can help to promote fine motor skills, problem-solving, and imaginative play.

Some examples of handmade kids interactive play mats include:

Cityscape play mats, which feature roads, buildings, and other elements that children can use to create their own urban landscapes.

Farm play mats, which feature barns, fields, and farm animals that children can use to engage in pretend play.

Ocean play mats, which feature sea creatures, coral reefs, and other aquatic elements that children can use to explore and imagine life under the sea.

Here are some of the play mats that I have created. These were all made with felt on the inside of the mat and a fun fabric print on the outside. I sewed the two pieces together and used ribbon to tie the mat once it was rolled up. All the play pieces are made with felt. These are great for traveling. Some of these are available in my shop today. 

• The first one I created was a fishing pond. This was made using felt with paper clips inside to make the fish and a dowel rod with yarn and a magnet to catch the fish. It also included pockets to store the fish.
• Another one was a dinosaur theme. Our boys loved dinosaurs growing up. These play mats included dinosaur finger puppets, dinosaur skeleton pieces to build a dinosaur and a volcano to place anywhere on the mat. The ground and cave are pockets to store the pieces.
• One other one was a space theme. This one included finger puppet aliens and planets to place anywhere on the mat. Space ships were pockets to hold the alien finger puppets. I also included a rocket ship on a fishing line that glides across the mat. 

Themed play mats

My son was playing with the fishing mat at his brother's soccer game when he was much younger.

I also created holiday themed play mats. These were made in the same way as the others with felt and fabric. 

• I had two different Halloween play mats that included such things as decorating jack-o-lanterns, tic-tac-toe, a ghost or spider on a fishing line to glide across the mat and kids costumes to lay on top the body attached to the mat. 
• The Christmas mat included Santa and Rudolph finger puppets, tic-tac-toe, a tree with ornaments to decorate and a sled on a fishing line to glide across the mat. The sled is also a pocket for Santa to sit inside.

Holiday themed play mats

Overall, handmade kids interactive play mats can be an engaging way for children to develop their creativity, fine motor skills, and imagination, all while having fun.

The play mats available in my shop today can be found here:

Play Mats