September 2009-Craft of the Month- Better Breakfast Month

With school getting back into the swing of things, have the children create their own placemats to celebrate Better Breakfast Month.  If you laminate their creations, they can be used again and again-all month!  If you have not yet purchased our One Lump..Or Two Book; you are not aware how easy we can make your life as a teacher/therapist/parent. Here is the placemat (one of many that celebrate the different events of a school year) template that you can Xerox and then let the children get creative with them.  Our book also has napkin rings to go with the placemats-these napkin rings address the cutting skills of the child-no matter what developmental level they are cutting on. The book also contains recipes that relate to Better Breakfast Month and many other school year events. There are also various pre-writing and perceptual motor activities and gross motor games to go along with the various food/tea party themes.
 
PLACEMATS



Materials Needed:

Xeroxed copy of placemat template from "One Lump or Two"
Markers, paints or crayons
Laminating material

Directions:
Have the child color or paint their placemat as desired.  Let dry if necessary.
Laminate the finished placemat.
Use for meals or snacks.

This craft address fine motor graphic skills.  Learning to color within given lines teaches the child better fine motor control.  With this particular placemat you can discuss the various colors that the fruits are (apples can be red, yellow or green; grapes-red, purple or green, etc.)
If you would prefer to work on cutting skills with the child to make a placemat- give them old magazines or food ads and have them cut out pictures of items they think would make a good breakfast.  Then have them glue them onto a sheet of construction paper.  Laminate the finished placemat, so it can be used multiple times.

This book also features a toast tongs craft that would be great for a Better Breakfast Month activity.