Making an educational mat with your own hands is quite simple. No special skills are required for this, you only need the imagination of a needlewoman and a sincere desire to create a unique thing for the development of your child.
The materials and tools for the rug are also simple and accessible:
1. Cotton fabric, cut 2 times larger than the finished size of the rug.
2. Medium-density padding polyester, the size of a finished rug.
3. Beads, buttons, ribbons, braid of different types.
4. Multi-colored thick felt.
5. Adhesive tape.
6. Transparent glue “Moment Crystal”.
7. Round plastic packaging with convex parts (for example, cottage cheese or scrapbooking products).
8. Threads, needles, scissors.
9. Sewing machine.
10. Pins.
eleven.Thick transparent film - a small piece.
12. Artificial flowers and berries of various types (knitted, soutache).
First of all, you need to sew the base of the rug.
To do this, the fabric must be folded in half widthwise with the front side inward, and a padding polyester placed underneath. All layers should be pinned around the perimeter. After this, you need to machine stitch along the edges of the rug at a distance of 7 mm from the edge, and remove the pins. The rug should not be sewn up in one place; through this hole it must be turned right side out. After turning the hole inside out, you need to sew it up. The base is ready.
Now you can start creating the game elements of the educational mat.
Before sewing the elements onto the mat, you should prepare them all and lay them out on it so that the area of the product is evenly filled.
Large elements can be placed in the center of the rug, and smaller ones of approximately the same size along all sides.
One of the elements may be patch pockets. In some you can put soft knitted elements (in this case - owls and flowers), and in the other you can attach ribbons on which you can practice the ability to braid a pigtail.
Pocket details can be made of felt. This material holds its shape perfectly, does not crumble, and retains its appearance for a long time. To make the pockets more attractive in the eyes of a child, you can make “windows” by sewing squares of thick transparent film.
Along one side of the rug you can sew multi-colored felt squares, on each of which the child will need to complete a task. For example, you can count the number of tassels on a square, look inside the square by bending its corners, practice tying and untying a ribbon bow, and practice the skill of fastening and unfastening loops and buttons.
Along the other side you can place geometric shapes. While playing with them, the child will remember their appearance and name. Geometric shapes are also best made from hard felt.
In the center of the rug you can place a whole flower meadow - 3 large flowers and many small ones.
Large flowers can be made from transparent plastic packaging, gluing them as a core, and felt petals. It is advisable to place something in the “cores” that will attract the child’s attention and arouse his interest - beads, buttons.
Small flowers can be knitted and in the form of soutache products. It is desirable that they have a hole in the middle. Then you can sew beads onto the rug, and plant flowers on these beads, thereby training your fingers.
In addition to flowers, berries can also grow in an improvised clearing. They can also be knitted, soutache, or made from buttons. In addition to berries, you can add mushrooms, small animals, insects, etc. The main thing is that the result is a very natural and harmonious clearing.
Using geometric figures, the child will train not only his memory, but also develop the ability to stick and unstick parts. A special tape glued to the parts will facilitate this.
In addition to any tasks, the elements of the rug can have a simple but important purpose - to enrich the child’s tactile experience. Various ribbons, ties, beads, lace, decorated around felt squares - all this can be touched, crushed, compared with each other, which will undoubtedly appeal to the taste of the little researcher.
Particular attention should be paid to the development of such a necessary skill as lacing.A separate felt square with loops and cord is what can be useful in this matter.
A felt circle specially designed for this will help you practice your ability to thread ribbon through loops. On it, with sufficiently long loops, you can practice the skill of threading a loop into a loop.
Another good way to develop motor skills is to move the buttons under the net. The child will need to not only learn to feel the button, but also to exert enough effort to move it.
The listed elements are not all that can be done on a developmental mat. There can be a huge number of options for such a product. The most important thing is that it fully meets the task assigned to it - in a playful way, simply, unobtrusively, excitingly, develops and delights the child.
