When such a small miracle as a child appears in the family, young parents begin to think about how to ensure the correct physical, emotional and mental development of the baby. Faced with such a task, difficult trips to children's stores begin in search of the right solution.

Nowadays, the modern production industry didactic games, benefits and toys for children different ages not only is at a high level, but also continues to rapidly gain momentum. In particular, today such a universal product as educational rugs for children is in considerable demand - you can easily make them yourself.

You can see one of the master classes on making a small round rug below.

Purpose

A children's rug is a kind of first didactic manual for kids and parents. When developing such a product, the main idea was to place all kinds of developmental elements on a colorful and bright canvas of different sizes: fabrics of different textures and colors, musical details, rattles, rodents, etc.

The purpose of this attribute is the development of hearing, motor activity, cognitive sphere and sensorimotor skills of the baby. With the help of such rugs, while playing, a child learns to reach for toys, crawl, sit, walk, and distinguish colors and shapes.

It is important that the mat meets the following requirements:

• The materials must be of high quality. This requirement applies not only to the fabric, but also to the components, in order to avoid an allergic reaction in the baby.
• Integrity of materials, i.e. absence of various types of damage, cracks, chips, poorly executed seams, etc.
• The build quality of the product must be high. Decorative elements and various accessories should not dangle, but should be firmly sewn and attached.
• The versatility of the canvas. Since babies grow quite quickly, there will be a need to improve this children's accessory. It is worth paying attention to whether it is possible, if necessary, to change and supplement the developmental parts and toys on the purchased mat. For example, if such a developmental product is made for newborns, babies up to 3 months and is planned to be used in the future, perfect choice There will be models with folding soft sides and durable hinged arches, to which various teaching materials can be attached. The presence of arches and folding sides in this product makes it possible to modernize and increase the playing area.

• Age characteristics child. You should not sew a fabric full of musical and electronic elements for your baby, or make puzzle rugs. Children of this age are just beginning their acquaintance with environment and are unable to think logically and establish cause-and-effect relationships.
• Variety of component materials. The more noise, rustling, ringing, sensorimotor, moving, interactive, mirror, glowing, etc. elements that are different in texture, color, size and shape - the faster and easier the child will become interested in the game. Such a canvas not only develops the baby, but also entertains him when parents are busy and cannot pay attention to him for some time.
• Mobility. The ability to easily fold and transport this product if desired.
• All elements of a children's educational rug should be easy to remove and unfasten, especially musical and electronic ones. This must be taken into account, since the fabric will need washing from time to time.

The search for a product that would meet all the above requirements can lead parents to a result where the price for such a children's attribute will be quite high. An excellent way out of this situation is to create such a development center yourself.

DIY sewing process

Without a doubt, the benefits of such a product for the development of the baby are quite obvious and clear. Therefore, if the choice is made in favor of a homemade center, you should work a little, be patient and imaginative. First, you need to think and decide what the rug will look like and which option to choose for its manufacture, so that the result is an original attribute filled with parental love, care and warmth.

In order to avoid mistakes in creating the canvas and not harm the baby, it is important to consider the following points:

Firstly, the presence of mirrors on the rug is unacceptable. This is dangerous not only because the mirror may break or part of it may break off, but it is also harmful to the baby’s vision, since when reflected from the mirror surface, the light is 100% polarized.

1. Items for fine motor skills fingers should not be monotonous. The child will quickly lose interest in this play activity. It is necessary to alternate textures that are different to the touch. This is also necessary in order to comprehensively develop the baby’s tactile sensations.
2. For the base of the fabric, you should not choose rich plain fabrics with a glossy effect. The baby's eyes will quickly get tired and the passion for the game will disappear.
3. When decorating a product, it is important to take into account the development level of the baby. Do not overly detail or complicate the composition. It is better to leave some free space to further make the desired changes.
4. Use fabrics of both cold and warm shades in the manufacture of this children's attribute. The colors should be bright, but not flashy.
5. It is also important to think about what zones the canvas will be divided into. Select decorated elements in such a way that they look appropriate and reflect the idea of ​​the plan.

Choosing a model

There are a lot of variations of children's educational canvases. Based on the model you like, it will be much easier to design your own, making it more perfect and individual.

Developmental mini-sites can be classified as follows.

By child's age

• For newborns. The canvas is soft and bright. The presence of sides and arcs is required. The toys are located so that the baby can reach them. Are used additional elements in the form of soft laces, strips of fabric different materials, rattling and rustling toys. Often such rugs are produced as “transformers”. If desired, they fold up quite easily and can be transformed into a toy bag or cradle.
• For babies from 6 months to 1 year. Most often these are rugs with musical attributes. At this time, the baby learns to sit, crawl and walk. There should be plenty of space for play activities. It becomes more comfortable and interesting for the child to play on the floor. Based on this, the developmental fabric is sewn with a foam rubber or padding polyester insert. The bottom of this product is oilcloth. This helps in cleaning it from possible contaminants.
• For babies from 1 year. For children of this age, the choice can be made in favor of a double-sided canvas. If you want to change the field of activity for the game, you just need to turn the product over. A one-year-old child will also be interested in musical or electronic rugs, as the baby is rapidly developing his auditory skills and dance movements.
• For children from 2 years old. At this time, the baby’s speech development is gaining momentum. The subject-didactic environment of the playing field should stimulate the baby to activate his vocabulary on topics: size, first colors, animals and the sounds they make. This age marks the development of plot-based role-playing games. The ideal choice would be a developmental attribute in the form of playhouses and paths - labyrinths;
• For children from 3 years old. At this age, children learn to establish cause-and-effect relationships. The main activity is role-playing game. Kids learn to find new uses for already familiar toys. Logic and thinking are actively developing. Mats such as puzzles and complicated maze paths are very useful and interesting for children of this age.

With arches and sides

Products of this model are quite common and in demand. The arcs cross each other and are quite easily detached from the mat. You can hang various game elements, musical parts, etc. on them. The borders-limiters are sewn from soft fabric, sometimes made in the form of rollers.

For boys and girls

Such canvases may differ in color, shape, and components. There are a huge number of ways to make such gender rugs. It all depends on the imagination and skills of the master who undertakes to create such a product.

Boys mainly use shades of blue and light blue in their products and depict road and construction equipment. These “car mats” will help your child get acquainted with the rules traffic. As an idea for decorating a canvas for young car enthusiasts, you can make a traffic light, in which you need to select and attach the colors correctly using adhesive tape or rivets. Homemade machines that can squeak or rattle due to small parts placed in them will also look decent.

When decorating rugs for girls, red and pink colors are used as a basis, dolls, flowers, hearts, etc. are depicted. Interesting and relevant for young ladies Canvases with a focus on household work will appear: it is appropriate to use various deep pockets, liners, inserts, applications in the form of stoves, cabinets, into which small fabric saucepans and doll dresses can be placed using Velcro tape or rivets.

In the form of puzzles

The most common fabrics of this type are products made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC), as it is impact-resistant, not rigid, durable and heat-retaining. Thanks to the listed qualities of such raw materials, you can be sure that a child playing on the floor will be warm and comfortable.

There are also textile puzzle rugs that mothers are happy to make on their own.

Stages of work

Having decided on the model of a children's educational rug, you can proceed directly to its manufacture. It will be much more convenient to work based on a drawn up action plan.

The first stage is preparatory. At this stage we need:

• Make a drawing of the playing canvas, taking into account all the additional decorative elements and developmental details.
• Choose fabric. When choosing a fabric, it is important to consider its hypoallergenicity. This quality is possessed by: cotton, calico, denim, flannel, satin, felt. If the project has a knitted decorative element, it is necessary to choose cotton yarn, as it is not only pleasant to the touch, but also does not cause irritation on the child’s delicate skin. Don’t forget about foam rubber or padding polyester, which will allow the baby to play on a warm and soft canvas.
• Prepare everything necessary tools and accessories: scissors, needles, threads, appliques, candy wrappers, buttons, ribbons, zippers, adhesive tape, laces, beads, etc.

The second stage is working with fabric.

The play mat consists of two main parts - the back side and the front side. Having decided on the fabric, shape and size of the product, we begin to make a pattern for the bottom and top of the fabric, not forgetting about the indents for the seams. Next, you should carefully sweep the edges, making sure there are no protruding threads.

The third stage is working with decorative finishing.

We sew the selected fabric appliqués onto the top fabric, which is the base of the rug. We perform the same actions with prepared fittings, rustling and sound parts, and toys. When working with the decoration of the canvas, it is especially important to ensure that the elements being attached are firmly attached.

The fourth stage is completion of the work.

At this stage, parts of the fabric are sewn together from the wrong side - the base and the bottom. But in order for the rug to be soft, you need to put foam rubber or padding polyester between the fabrics (if it is very thin, you will need two layers).

Master class on making a rug

Let's take a step-by-step look at how to make a developmental mat with arcs for a newborn.

The manufacturing process can be seen in the video:

Step one. Preparation of the necessary tools and materials.

Attention! The fabric for the canvas should be selected as high quality as possible, for example, cotton. This material is quite durable and completely natural. Use to create a product better fabric different tones - cold and warm shades.

• approximately 1 meter of plain bright fabric on the bottom and arches;
• 8 scraps of fabric with polka dots, flowers, stripes, checkered patterns or any other pattern;
• cotton braid, satin ribbons or strips of fabric (optional);
• a gymnastic plastic hoop, the arc diameter of which will be approximately 65 cm;
• paper pattern in the shape of a square with sides 45 cm long;

Attention! The sides of the square paper pattern will vary depending on the diameter of the hoop chosen. If the arc is longer, the size of the product will be larger.

• scissors, needle, thread, stationery knife, pins;
• padding polyester: 2 meters for the arcs and 1 meter for the base of the canvas.

Step two. Pattern of material.

Cut out the first base - the bottom of the canvas.

A paper square is placed on the selected fabric and carefully outlined with chalk or soap. On the sides you need to leave indentations of approximately 1.5 - 2 cm, these are the so-called seam gaps. Next, the pattern should be cut out.

You need to fold the paper square 4 times diagonally to form a triangle. Next, it is alternately applied to 8 pieces of fabric, then outlined and cut out. It is important not to forget about leaving space for stitching the material. The result will be 8 fabric triangles. These are what will make up the top of the rug.

Each two triangles are folded with their large sides facing each other and sewn together. The result of such actions will be 4 squares, which also need to be stitched together so that at the end you get one large square. All material should be sewn so that all seams remain inside.

Now you will need to work with padding polyester. From it you should cut out two squares with sides of 50 cm.

The result of this stage of work will be a finished top, soft base and bottom of the product.

Step three. Making arcs.

The selected hoop is divided into two equal parts using stationery knife. The result is arches, which should also be soft. To do this, pieces of padding polyester must be attached to each half of the hoop, pressing tightly and wrapping them with threads at intervals of 2–3 cm. Next, such unique arches should be covered with fabric and sheathed. However, in the middle of one of the arcs you will need to insert two strips of braid, ribbon or fabric, which will be tied at the top and hold the structure.

Attention! Using pins will make working with parts of the hoop much easier, as they will secure the fabric and prevent it from slipping.

Step four. Creating “pockets” for arcs.

In order for the arcs to be firmly attached to the base of the rug, it is necessary to make four “pockets” from pieces of material. You need to sew some kind of tubes, the width of which should be slightly larger than the diameter of the arc wrapped with padding polyester and fabric, and the length should be approximately 10 - 12 cm. The arc should fit freely into the pocket, but not dangle.

Step five. Shutdown.

You must first sew pockets into the corners of the fabric. Then you need to stitch the bottom and top of the product inside out, right sides inward (like a pillowcase), leaving a small opening through which the padding polyester will fit inside. The base of the rug is ready.

Next you should install the arcs. They should be inserted into pockets, placed diagonally on the product, crossing each other and connected at the top with a sewn-in ribbon or braid. To prevent the arcs from jumping out, you need to tightly wrap the pockets with the arcs with material.

The developmental mat for newborns is ready. All that remains is to use satin ribbons or cotton braid to hang toys, teethers or rattles from the arches.

The process of creating the next rug is presented in two parts. Be sure to check it out - you'll see a lot interesting ideas.

Loving parents, trying to develop their child from birth, use modern techniques and all kinds of expensive toys. Recently, developmental mats have been invented specifically for these purposes. You can buy such a rug in a store, but many women prefer to make it with their own hands, because it is not at all difficult to do. In this article we will tell you how to make DIY educational mat for children from 0 to 3 years old, and we'll show photo the most original ideas.

Educational mat for a small child

An educational mat is a textile or knitted cloth, decorated with bright appliqués, with movable elements for play placed on it. It is sometimes supplemented with a frame for hanging toys. This rug gives children the opportunity to develop from the first days of life, and is designed for use up to 3 years of age.

Developmental mat for newborns

Playing with an educational mat will help:

Did you know: a child’s brain is not fully developed at the time of birth. In the first months and years of life, the most active growth and development of nerve connections in the brain occurs. This process, and the number of connections created, is influenced by the environment in which the child grows up and how he is dealt with.

Developmental mat for babies

For a child, a developmental mat will become the largest and most useful toy that never gets boring, and for a mother, it will be the main visual aid for activities with the baby. When the child grows up and begins to sit independently, he will be able to play with it and develop without outside help. Bright applications and a large number of All kinds of elements will occupy the child’s attention for a long time, and you will get the opportunity to relax a little or do household chores. During joint activities It is necessary to show the child what actions can be performed with objects placed on the mat, and to get him to complete the assigned tasks.

Educational mat for little ones

Advantages of a homemade rug

Advice: make a rug with a spare size so that as the child grows up, you can add new developmental elements that are appropriate for his age. It will “grow” with the child and will always be new and interesting.

Making a developmental mat

We make a developmental mat with our own hands

First, you need to decide what exactly you want to see on your rug and draw a rough sketch on a piece of paper. Then choose a material suitable in size and texture for the base of the rug and for its lining. To make the rug soft and warm, you will need padding polyester or warm coat fabric. The latter will help the mat better keep its shape and not wrinkle during play.

Ideas for an educational square rug

Tip: choose natural or half-synthetic fabrics for the face covering. They must have a stable color and not accumulate static electricity. Chintz, linen, gabardine, and suiting fabrics with natural wool fibers are suitable. For lining, use a non-slip material. Do not use satin or satin. It is better to take chintz, cotton jersey, linen or corduroy, and woolen suiting fabrics.

Bright and colorful educational mat for children

Preparation of accessories

Collect all the scraps and unnecessary things that you don’t mind cutting up. Try to choose different textures, bright fabrics, with interesting patterns. Wash and iron everything. Look around your house for threads, buttons and locks. Find different colored laces, buttons and beads. Gather small toys and boxes together. All this will be useful to you in your work and this will be enough to get started.

Photo of a model educational rug for children

Then, as needed, you can search for and select the necessary materials. You may need ribbons, elastic bands, and Velcro. Metal and plastic rings, Kinder surprise boxes and broken rattles will come in handy. You can use multi-colored wool threads of different thicknesses.

Important! Do not use toys with small parts that cannot be secured to the mat; small children put everything in their mouth and can swallow them! Do not use materials that crumble, break or come off!

Preparing the base

DIY educational mat for a baby

Cut panels of the same size from the main fabric, from the lining fabric and from the padding polyester. Lay them out in three layers so that the padding polyester is inside, and connect them together. Finish the edges with an overlocker, edging, or a simple hem. The base for the rug is ready.

Photo of an educational mat with overlays

Creating a playing field

On the prepared basis we create a playing field according to the sketch. It could be a forest, a lake, or a flower bed, a road for cars and a river for ships. You can make a green meadow and a blue sky with clouds. Cutting out the details the right size and colors, fold the edges and sew them onto the rug, first by hand and then on a sewing machine.

Educational mat with small details for a small child

Tip: place the parts on a soft adhesive base (non-woven fabric), it will be easier to work with them and they will look better.

Making game elements

This is the main and most labor-intensive part of the work. You can make flowers, butterflies or mushrooms, and come up with fairy-tale houses and castles. Make cars, airplanes or boats, sew any small animals or birds. Show your imagination. They can be sewn or fixed movably, on cords or ribbons, or attached to the rug using Velcro or buttons.

Educational mat in bright colors

Tip: to make the game elements voluminous, use padding polyester to fill them.

Interesting ideas

Tip: To make a lake, use a piece of clear polyethylene or organza and place the fish underneath. For grass, a fleecy fabric of a matching color is suitable.

Educational mat with houses, butterflies and toys

Securing elements to the mat

According to the sketch you came up with, place the finished elements on the rug. Sew buttons, laces and Velcro, secure toys, place game characters in places. Close the clasps and lace up the pockets. Complete each developmental composition according to the sketch you created.

Important! Check the reliability of fastening of small parts, the strength of cords and threads with beads, the integrity of loops and boxes!

An original idea for a developmental mat for a baby

Developmental activities with a mat

Did you know: children who are regularly tutored are, by the age of two, ahead of their peers in development, and their vocabulary is 300 words higher.

The idea of ​​a beautiful educational rug

Having spent a little time making a developmental mat, you will use it for your child's development for several years. You will always find something to keep your baby busy and something to play with him. A bright and colorful rug will decorate a child's room and become a favorite place to play. Made with love by your hands, it will bring your son or daughter a lot of joy and leave warm memories for a lifetime.

Developmental mat for babies

DIY educational mat for children from 0 to 3 years old 39 photo ideas:

Many mothers (and you, I think, too) are concerned about the question: how to fully develop a child? After all, everyone is talking about the importance of developing fine motor skills; you can read about it in any book and on any forum about children. And this is not surprising, because it has been established that the development of fine motor skills directly affects and general development child's brain.

In this article I want to talk about a wonderful toy that will provide invaluable assistance in developing the motor skills of children's fingers - this is a developmental mat. There is a whole expanse on the baby rug: you can touch, wrinkle, pull, unfasten, twist. Fingers are constantly at work, constantly gaining new tactile experiences. There are zippers and Velcro and everything that is so interesting for kids.

I propose to make a developmental mat with your own hands and below I will give several reasons why this is worth doing. Well, if you have already decided to sew this educational toy and are now looking for interesting ideas for making it, then this article is definitely for you. Here you will find various design ideas, and also find out what developmental elements can be used to make it interesting for your child to learn new motor skills. I will tell you about all the elements using the example of an educational rug that I sewed for my daughter.

What are the advantages of a homemade educational mat?

• In this case, it will meet all your wishes and will take into account all the interests and needs of your child.
• You save money. You will most likely sew most of the parts for the rug from scraps of fabric you have, old buttons and other accessories. But, of course, you will have to buy something in addition, mainly appliqués for decoration and missing small details. In any case, such a children's educational mat will cost you less than one purchased in a store.
• The process of making a rug will probably seem very exciting to you; it will use all your imagination.

What will you need?

First you need to choose the fabric for the base. It should be thick fabric, preferably plain. Fleece, thin drape, quilted lining material with synthetic padding, and even a children's flannel blanket are good options. Try to choose a natural fabric for the base, because the child will be on the mat for a long time. The size of the product will depend on the ideas that you plan to implement on it. For my daughter, I sewed a rug measuring 1x1 meter.

For the wrong side, for reasons of economy, you can take a simpler fabric, it could even be chintz.

It will be great if you use filler (sintepon), it will give the rug some rigidity, and when the child pulls the lace that interests him, the rug will keep its shape and will not bunch up.

The following elements can be sewn onto an educational mat for children:

• buttons of different colors and sizes;
• lightning;
• Velcro;
• hooks;
• caps from plastic bottles(together with necks);
• belt with buckle;
• pockets with and without fasteners (buttons or Velcro);
• ribbons, laces, ribbons, large buttons can be attached to them;
• pads with different fillings (cereals, beans, rustling plastic bag, candy wrappers);
• rattling and musical elements from old toys.

Ideas for decorating a rug

It will be interesting for your baby to play with the rug, even if you just sew all these accessories in a chaotic order. But if you still decorate it in an interesting way, stitch on a lot of appliques, add surprises waiting for the baby under the locks and in numerous pockets, the child will simply not be able to tear him away.

It would be good if the appliqués were not just chaotically sewn onto the fabric, but somehow connected with each other, united by a single design. Here are some design ideas:

Design idea No. 1. The most commonplace plot (which is represented on my rug) is a small landscape with the image of the sun and clouds in the upper part, and in the lower part - houses, trees, roads, cars, etc.

Design idea No. 2. You can make a rug in the form of a roadway, where there will be houses, cars, traffic lights, gas stations, garages; such a rug will also be interesting to drive cars on.

Design idea No. 3. You can make a rug on the theme “Seasons”; for this, the base fabric will need to be roughly divided into 4 parts and appropriate appliqués made in each of them.

Design idea No. 4. Similarly, you can expand on the theme “Weather”: in one part it’s cloudy and raining, in another the sun is shining and the grass is green, in the third everything is white with snow.

Design idea No. 5. The rug can also represent one large house or a castle with many windows and doors.

So, what developmental elements can you sew onto a rug:

• Sun. Buttons are sewn onto the sun as eyes and nose. The rays are made of ribbons that are attached to only one edge. Some ribbons have buttons on them. Looking at the sun and feeling the buttons, the baby will remember where his eyes, nose, mouth, and rays are.

• Cloud #1. There is a rustling plastic bag sewn inside the cloud. When Taisiya and I rustle a cloud, we say that since it is making noise, it means it will rain soon.

• Cloud No. 2. In this cloud, rain can not only gather, but also begin for real. In order to see the rain, the baby will have to unzip the zipper and take out the ribbons from the cloud. If you want sunny weather, fold the ribbons back and fasten the clasp.

• House. A window and a door open in the house. The window is locked with a button, the door with a hook. If the baby manages the locks, he will see who is hiding inside. Such surprises are very attractive to kids and motivate them to play around with the tricky clasps.

• Tree.“Apples” are attached to the tree using Velcro. Each “apple” has its own filling: beans, rice, paper candy wrappers, etc. “Apples” can not only be picked from the tree and hung again. You can also put them somewhere. For this purpose, you can sew a basket-shaped pocket nearby. We put our “apples” in the train trailers.

• Car, road and mountain. Children also really like moving elements. We have a car moving on the rug. There is a thin black ribbon stretched from the house to the mountain along which the car can be moved. Thus, it turns out that our car drives away from the house, passes along the road behind a tree, then drives over the mountain and disappears there.

• Steam locomotive carriages. The trailers are pockets. Each pocket hides a character. To prevent the inserted toy from getting lost, it is advisable to attach it to the mat with a ribbon.

• Steam locomotive. Caps from plastic bottles along with necks are sewn in as locomotive wheels. If you use lids of different sizes, it will be more interesting, and you can also reinforce the concepts of “big-small”. Under each lid there is a surprise - a small applique with the image of an animal.

• Bridge and river. The bridge over the river is made from part of a belt with a buckle on it. Thanks to this bridge, the child will develop another useful skill - unfastening and fastening seat belts. And, as usual, to the delight of the baby, a surprise awaits him under the bridge - a fish.

• Christmas tree. If your child wants to decorate the Christmas tree with garlands, he will need to handle the lacing. And if you bend the branches of the Christmas tree, you can see a hedgehog hiding there.

After the main part of the work on the rug is completed, sew the fabric on the wrong side.

Always remember that the baby will not spare your creation, he will use it to its full potential. Therefore, try to sew all the elements of the rug as tightly as possible to avoid tearing off small parts. It is advisable to finish the edges of the appliqués with an overcast stitch to prevent them from crumbling.

In my experience, a developmental mat becomes truly interesting for a child from about 1 year of age and does not lose its relevance for a very long time. The baby will gradually master the elements of the rug. At first he will only feel and examine, watching with curiosity how you unbutton and fasten the clasps before his eyes, but he will soon understand that he himself can unscrew and unfasten something. Already at the age of 1 year 3 months, a child will most likely learn to cope with Velcro and zippers. In our house, an educational rug is one of the most “long-lasting” games; it is clearly not a toy that is played for at most 2 evenings. My daughter takes out the rug from time to time and enthusiastically plays on it to this day.

I wish you success and interesting ideas in making your own educational mat! And be sure to tell us about your ideas! I think they will be useful to many mothers.

Development of the baby in early age very important. To do this, it is not necessary to master complex techniques and devote a lot of time to classes: this will only tire the baby. It is much easier to purchase a mat for newborns. IN game form The child will develop vision, motor skills, sensory skills, and coordination of movements. And if you don’t have the money to buy this useful gadget in the store, then you can make it yourself.

The benefits of a developmental mat

Modern educational rugs for babies became known not so long ago. This is a full-fledged gaming complex that develops a child’s intelligence. If earlier mothers used a blanket as a regular bedding to make it warmer for the baby to play and crawl on the floor, today a simple bedding is no longer relevant.

It is better to choose a rug with arcs on which various toys are hung; this additionally develops coordination and stimulates the baby to focus his vision.

Musical elements and various tweeters are very good; they develop hearing. And to press a button, you need to build a logical chain in your head: button-press-music. Such actions will develop the baby's thinking.

• For sensory development, children's rugs should be equipped with various rustling elements, as well as fragments of fabrics with different textures.
• Often in such gadgets you can see a special “safe” mirror. This element is very useful. With its help, the child gets to know himself and examines his face. This mirror will not break, even if the baby drops it or starts gnawing on it.
• Well, another undeniable advantage of such a toy is that it can keep the child occupied for quite a long time, which gives the mother the opportunity to do something else.

All the necessary elements are already provided in purchased models. But such rugs are not cheap. For the simplest option with a minimum of development elements, you will have to pay at least 2000-3000 rubles. At the same time, it is not a fact that the baby will be interested in such a purchase for a long time with a small number of interesting “things”.

It will be much more interesting to experiment and make a similar toy for a newborn yourself. If there are older children in the family, you can involve them in creating such a gaming center too. This way, the younger family member will get an educational toy, and older children will have an interesting and creative time.

How to sew a developmental mat with your own hands

In fact, everything is not as difficult as it seems. To give such a gift to a baby, you only need a little patience, imagination and available materials.

Where to begin

First you need to soberly assess your sewing capabilities and perseverance. If this is difficult, then there is no need to take on complex models. A simple option made from an old blanket, fabric appliqués and buttons is a good place to start. Although this gadget looks simple, it will be very interesting for the little ones.

Appliques of different shapes and colors made of thick fabric (you can use felt) are sewn onto a base made from an old blanket. It’s good to decorate everything with buttons, and make several elements detachable - this will develop motor skills. The more decor and color, the better!

To make such a rug for a baby, you will need a minimum of time and materials.

If you want to do something more complicated, then you need more thorough preparation. You need to stock up on materials in advance, find suitable ideas on the Internet, or come up with them yourself. It’s better to draw the future rug on paper in advance to have a clear idea of ​​what you should get. This step will help you select fabrics and accessories.

Selection of materials

The choice of source materials depends on the idea. But there is a general set that will definitely come in handy:

• Threads of different colors for sewing and embroidery.
• Needle.
• Scissors.
• Sewing machine. Of course, you can limit yourself to your hands, but with sewing equipment the rug will turn out neater and the work will go faster.
• Velcro tape.
• Zippers of short length and bright colors.
• Regular underwear elastic.
• Different kinds braids.
• Buttons of different shapes, colors and sizes.
• Scraps of fabric of different textures and patterns.
• Candy wrappers for “rustling” elements.
• Squeakers from old toys to make a musical rug. You can use musical elements with buttons on batteries from books or toys.
• Plastic rings from old pacifiers and nipple holders.
• An old blanket for the base. Instead, padding polyester or any other insulation material that will not clump and dries quickly is suitable.
• Bright fabric for covering the rug. It is necessary to use hypoallergenic materials (cotton, fleece, flannel, etc.).

This kit is enough to make an amazing educational toy. Based on your intentions, you can add to the list.

The main stages of making a developmental mat

1. It is necessary to think over the design and make patterns

This pattern is suitable for the base of the rug. It already provides for division into sectors. Each sector will carry its own meaning. When cutting, leave seam allowances

It is also better to make patterns for decorative elements on paper in advance. life size. You can take templates from the Internet or draw them yourself.
2. Then you need to cut the fabric for the base and sew it. An old blanket or padding polyester is placed inside to make the base warm and the child can play on the floor.
3. When the base is ready, you can begin the main work - decor. Game elements can be very different.

A house with an opening door. There is a bright applique hidden behind the door.

Ladybug with a zipper that trains motor skills

Volumetric sun, which can be supplemented with a “squeaker”

Tent made of smooth textured material (raincoat fabric can be used) with Velcro and zipper

A berry on a string that you can pull back and forth

Velcro bridge over the river

A cloud with a pocket from which you can pull out the “rain” from the braid

Volumetric clouds with padding polyester inside and tulle folds on the outside. They can be sewn to the base, or they can be made with Velcro

A flower made of textured fabric with a voluminous center where you can put a rustling element, a button with music or a beeper

There can be a lot of ideas for game elements. To begin with, all the decor is sewn separately. Then it is carefully sewn to the base. Here are just a few options for ready-made homemade rugs:

Idea with sectors designed according to the seasons

And this is how you can decorate the edges. Using braid, they can be turned into sides. You can use buttons instead of ribbons

Bright rug “Parsley”

4. If you want to complicate the task and make a rug with arcs, you can make them using flexible plastic pipes of small diameter or a cheap plastic hoop.

Plastic pipes suitable for arcs. If you have a plastic hoop, you need to cut it in half

The arcs need to be wrapped with padding polyester. Foil insulation is also suitable. The entire structure is well wrapped with threads for fixation. Manipulation is carried out with both arcs

The top of the arches is sheathed with material suitable for the base of the rug

To secure the toys, you need to sew these loops of braid into the arch covers

Another option for attaching toys is Velcro cuffs. This design can easily move along an arc

To secure the arcs to the base, you can use different ways. It is better to choose those with removable arches. This will make the rug easier to fold and store.

The first method is plastic carbines
You will need four carabiners; you can take those left over from old high chairs, strollers, sleds, etc. It will also not be difficult to buy them at a sewing accessories store.

One part of the carabiner is secured with inside rug on all four corners

The second part is fixed at the ends of the arcs. For fastening, a cover of the arches is used, which needs to be made a little longer for this purpose.

To secure the arches, you just need to fasten all four fasteners, and secure the crosspiece on top with ribbon or braid, tying it crosswise. The second part of the Velcro is sewn to the ends of the arches

The arcs are inserted into the holes crosswise and secured from the inside with Velcro. You need to tie a braid on top for additional fixation. Instead of tape, you can use the same Velcro tape, which is sewn on the bottom of the upper arc and on top of the bottom

You can choose any method of attaching the arches. Some people use buttons or simply sew arcs to the base.

5. All that remains is to hang the toys from the arcs. You can purchase them in advance at the store or sew them yourself. Hanging toys also need to be equipped with interesting details, for example, inserting a bell from a rattle inside.

This bunny can be an excellent hanging toy. No patterns are required for sewing. A couple of pieces for the head and dress, ribbon for the ears, and cord for the arms and legs are enough.

Using these instructions, you can sew an excellent developmental mat for a newborn, which will be even better than a store-bought one.

Buy play mat– it’s not a difficult matter. But not all models sold in stores meet necessary conditions security. Why take the risk of wasting your money? It is much better to make this useful gadget with your own hands. And you can be absolutely sure that all the materials are of high quality, and the item is made well and with love.

In addition, the item will be original and presented in a single copy - an excellent option for a gift. As the baby grows, you can watch him and add play elements to the item in accordance with the baby’s interests. Better yet, make several rugs with elements of varying complexity. This way the baby will definitely not get bored, and mommy will have some free time for herself or for household chores.

An educational mat has come into use relatively recently and has already gained wide popularity: in caring for a child and raising him at an early age, he can replace a whole set of things and at the same time practically does not take up the usable space of the home. Accordingly, the prices for these items are clearly inflated, so there are more than enough people who want to make a developmental mat from scratch with their own hands, especially since at home this is quite possible and does not require any significant costs.

However, if you look at the well-known manuals for making educational rugs, they boil down mainly to instructions on what material to use, how to cut, stitch, stuff, etc. As for the rest, it’s something like “parents can show their imagination and express their individuality.” My? But a rug should help a child develop a personality, and for adults it is what it is. Then, mom, most likely, already knows how to sew, since she looks at sites for needlewomen, and not shopping catalogues. In this publication, we will try, first of all, to give readers an idea of ​​which educational mat for children will be better in which case and how to make it based on the characteristics of child psychology. Although cutting and sewing will not be left aside either.

Technologically, most developmental rugs are equivalent to a quilted blanket, although other design options are possible, see below. The actual developing elements in it are various kinds of applications, pockets, flaps, voluminous soft linings. How to combine all this into a single product, see for example. Master Class:

Video master class: DIY educational mat

And we will try to figure out how to come up with a composition that is useful for the baby and entertaining for him. More precisely, what framework should be followed when fantasizing about a future homemade educational mat.

Note: When reading further about the composition of the rug in the master class, questions may arise, which we will talk about later.

From 0 to 7

Let us briefly recall the main stages of development of young children. Just keep in mind that the age limits indicated are arbitrary; individually they can vary significantly. So:

• 0-6 months- foolish. The sensations are almost completely organic (“internal”, dictated by the state of the body). The basics of vision are formed: clear vision (the gaze becomes meaningful), adaptation to lighting. Feedback from the outside world is instinctive: screaming, smiling, undirected movements.
• 0.5-1 year- a slider, learns to recognize information from the senses and manage it, making still uncertain movements. From about a year old, he will already benefit from educational toys and objects, incl. mat, giving tactile and visual sensations. Color vision is still imperfect, the blue range is perceived as dark and with poorly distinguishable subtle shades, and red and yellow tones are perceived as overly bright, “blazing.”
• 1-3 years– a walker, the child learns to control his limbs and make purposeful movements. In vision, blue tones gradually gain “juice” and warm tones fade. The “rangefinder” of binocular vision is gaining accuracy, but its geometry is still distorted: objects seem huge and plump. At the age of 2-3 years, a child needs a developmental mat with play elements. The first accurate feedback with the world appears - speech.
• 3-5 years– the most important “evolutionary leap”: a person begins to think, compare causes with consequences, draw basic conclusions about the causes of what is happening and forecasts for the future based on an analysis of the current situation. Motor skills, sensory organs and speech are improving, but there is no abstract thinking yet: the baby’s world is his things and the immediate surroundings, and his center is his mother. Cause-and-effect relationships are recognized as simple and immediate.
• 5-7 years– imaginative thinking develops. Fine developed child is already able to track 2-4 stages of cause-and-effect relationships and, accordingly, make targeted movements from the same number of phases. Color vision is almost adult, and in all other respects the child is no longer a toddler. Following the rule of ontogenesis, this is a transition from primitive savagery to civilization: the child already understands that the world is not only what he directly perceives, but something huge, but completely knowable, transformable and usable. The rug may still be useful, but for some other purpose: it has done its job in development, it’s time to go to school.

Note: The rule, or principle, of ontogenesis in biology states that any living organism in its individual development (ontogenesis) to some extent repeats the biological history of its evolutionary ancestors (phylogeny). This rule is also true for humans. For example, in the initial stages of pregnancy, a human embryo appears... gills for some time. Then, while still in the womb, they disappear and are replaced by lungs.

Is it needed at all?

Teachers, pediatricians and child psychologists have not yet come to a consensus on whether a developmental mat is definitely beneficial for a child. There is only one thing in agreement: a developmental mat for babies is beneficial only if the mother regularly and as much of the time as possible during the child’s play activities engages with it or at least closely supervises it. Otherwise, the child’s whole world can become enclosed on the rug, and he can grow up to be an introvert, or, even worse, an autist who cannot fit organically into human society and adequately respond to life’s circumstances. Simply put: a rug will not replace a mother, although it can significantly ease her worries. If mother leaves her on the rug to develop as best she can, and she herself gets lost somewhere, then it will only get worse.

What type of mat do you need?

“They tore off the bear’s paw/Dropped the bear on the floor/I still won’t leave him/Because he’s good!” Everyone knows how tightly children become attached to their favorite toys. The basis of this effect is impenetrable: the instinct of self-preservation. The loss or damage of a familiar thing, the safety, reliability and benefits of which, from the point of view of the little one, have been verified, is a signal of some kind of danger. All the more terrible because it is unknown. That is why, and not because it will have to be altered, it is extremely advisable to make a children's educational rug so that it becomes loved from the moment the need for it arises until it is used. retirement time– use as a bedside table or simply as a play mat. Reincarnation is also possible for future new family members. Then it should be interesting to play on the educational mat with the youngest and for the child who is no longer small.

Successful examples of this kind of amateur creativity are presented in the photo. We’ll talk about the materials for them below, but for now let’s pay attention to:

1. The detailing is varied, but not too small and not very large: the little things cannot be seen properly by the slider, and the very large, uniform fields of the walker, if they do not seem clearly threatening, will not arouse sympathy;
2. The color scheme is not flashy, bright details small, so that even the smallest ones do not seem big in comparison with themselves. Elements of blue colors do not dominate the composition;
3. For the slider stage, there are many details with various textures - there is every opportunity to hone your sense of touch;
4. They also give walkers the opportunity to practice counting. Not yet consciously, but then it will be easier to understand that 1 is not 2 or 3 and that “many” can be counted as much as you like;
5. Pockets, flaps, ties, fasteners - we learn to move our fingers accurately;
6. For mental stages - zoning, implicit on the left and explicit on the right. By organizing order in our little world, we ourselves become accustomed to it.

Note: even before the stage of objective thinking it is possible (maybe with the help child psychologist) determine what the child's temperament will be. In some cases this is also possible for newborns, for example. using the rules of inheritance of temperament. For choleric and melancholic people, implicit zoning is preferable, and for sanguine and phlegmatic people, explicit zoning is preferable.

About materials

The best way to make a developmental mat is from natural fabrics, The hypoallergenicity of which (inability to cause allergies) has been verified: satin (for a smooth but not slippery base), felt, calico, flannel, denim. Wool is not suitable, it is an allergen. Weak, safe for adults, but children's skin is much more sensitive. For the same reason ( soft skin) silk is not suitable, it is very easily electrified and shines with highly polarized light, see below.

Modern synthetic fabrics for children's things are not inferior to natural ones, but only and only in accordance with the requirements. certificate from trusted manufacturers. If synthetics of unknown origin seem to be no worse than cotton, this does not mean anything: it can be made from cheap plastic obtained using toxic catalysts. Residues of the catalyst from fabric fibers can be released in quantities that cannot be detected by conventional laboratory analysis, but with prolonged exposure are harmful to children.

It is better to use synthetic padding as a filler, it is hypoallergenic and practically does not accumulate static electricity. Furniture foam rubber grade 35 and above is not so good; in a dry room it becomes noticeably electrified. The most ordinary batting would be perfect - but, alas, until the first wash. As for the threads, then best option– propylene. They are durable, resistant, and non-allergenic. They themselves are slightly electrified, but if the entire mat is antistatic, no charge accumulation is detected.

What not to do

The above rules for constructing the composition of a children's rug give wide scope to the imagination of parents, so it is necessary to outline the boundaries that cannot be crossed. A mirror on a development mat, pos. 1 in Fig., which, by the way, is the problem with many expensive products promoted in the trade. The point is not that a child can be afraid of his reflection, far from it. The fact is that the direct light reflected from the mirror (and how to avoid it for sure?) is polarized up to 100%. This is very harmful for a fragile visual system; It is strongly not recommended to place a mirror in a nursery for large children.

Note: the volumetric details in this sample are simply an accident. No harm will come from them.

The next big mistake is using monotonous objects to feel, pos. 2. The tactile sense should develop comprehensively, like others. And at pos. 3 – too large shiny field of saturated blue. Why it’s bad – see above.

Next in Fig. There are examples of mistakes that are more or less forgivable. At pos. 4 blue field muted, at pos. 5 its area is relatively small. At pos. 6, the location of the cold color is actually unsuccessful, as it affects the so-called. the effect of dominance of the top, but the pale blue color significantly neutralizes it. Here main mistake– too detailed and complex composition, designed for fairly developed imaginative thinking.

Note: completely abandoning the blue color scheme of a developmental rug is, of course, also bad. The child must learn to distinguish between them. Here it makes sense, in addition to choosing soft shades, to drive the blue to the center of the rug, where it will be psychologically neutral, see for example. video below.

Video: educational mat “Underwater World”

The error of the mat on pos. 7, presumably, is clear in the light of the above: this is too small and devoid of clear meaning in the detailing of the zones. How can a person who thinks in terms of “whack – hurt”, “wet – thump” understand these patterns? Also on pos. 8: The rug is clearly for a girl, but what’s what in each sector? If children, due to their still undeveloped imaginative thinking, are pragmatists, then girls are doubly pragmatic. And for the most part they remain so throughout their lives. The same flaw, of unclear meaning, in position 8: zones of suitable size, clearly expressed, but purely children's question: why is there anything here? Can you explain it to yours?

The right rugs

Rugs for girls

The detailing of a developmental rug for a girl can be quite detailed, such as, for example. in the master class at the beginning. But provided that the entire composition is semantically transparent and oriented in a certain direction. If the circle of interests of the daughter is still unclear, then the zones need to be made larger, clearly defined, and the details in them should not be too small, on the left in Fig. Girls generally prefer round rugs; The range of interests for the future housewife is not an abstract concept. Successful farming requires many different interests, and in this case, zoning round rug need to be in sectors, in the center. If the rug is rectangular, then in the middle there must be free space for the mistress of this little world, on the right; In women, the desire for autarky remains for life.

Other special rugs

For a fidgety child who is always pulled where he shouldn’t go, a rug with a soft barrier is well suited, on the left in Fig. A large children's rug can be supplemented with a separate barrier in the center. It doesn’t have to be filled with filling; a very low barrier made of pompoms will do. How to sew kids rug from pompoms, see the video at the bottom of the section, but in the same way you can make a border on any developmental rug.

Children's educational rugs with special features

A soft barrier is also psychologically gentle, unlike a playpen fence, and keeps the child in his rightful operating zone unobtrusively. Suddenly, a beloved child intends to do mischief on the side, something like this flashes in his head: “Uh-uh... Mmm-mm... Based on the analysis of the totality of operating factors, through trivial conclusions, we come to the conclusion that, in principle, unauthorized activity objectively possible, but only very likely - mom will scold you.”

For girls who are very, very economical, in in a good way words, a rug with large deep pockets and flaps, on the right in Fig. Being a hoarder for the same future housewife and housekeeper is not such a sin; can be as useful in life as courage is for a boy.

Video: DIY pompom rug for a child

About car mats

Educational car mats are predominantly for boys, although in modern life Knowledge of traffic rules and the ability to drive vehicles are necessary for everyone. Therefore, the narrow specialization of the mat on road traffic cannot be considered its disadvantage. After all, where does it say that your favorite toy should only be one? Or that it’s impossible to sew another one, a general developmental one, for a car mat?

If a child plays with cars on a rug alone since childhood, it is advisable to make it somewhat stylized, detailed and textured, as described above, on the left in Fig. If his driving discipline is controlled by a traffic police inspector in the form of an older brother, the details are allowed to be more detailed and closer to reality, in the center. But in any case, there is no need to install a traffic light at every zebra crossing, or to leave all zebra crossings without traffic lights. It is best to depict traffic lights at 1-2 crossings, on the right there, so that you understand: a zebra is a zebra in Africa, with or without a traffic light.

Rugs with arcs

Educational rugs with arcs more than replace a playpen, without at the same time presenting obvious prohibitions in the form of its fencing:

• Virtually, but unambiguously, they define the child’s own space, without at the same time creating physically insurmountable obstacles; this promotes the development of self-discipline from a very early age.
• It is much easier to grasp the arches and toys suspended from them when learning to walk than the barrier of the playpen.
• On a rug with arches for a child, the likelihood of flopping down on his back (which, by the way, the playpen does not prevent) is minimal.
• Being already a fully qualified walker, with the help of the same toys it is convenient to do stretching exercises, poses. 1 in Fig.

Arcs for a homemade children's educational mat can be made in different ways. The most durable and inexpensive ones are made from a plastic gymnastics hoop covered with padding polyester and lined with fabric. You just need to decide how to make them foldable, so that when the need is over, you can put them away and hide them.

IN industrial products This type of arch is often placed crosswise and equipped with a hidden hinge, pos. 2. It is difficult to make it yourself, given the soft covering of the arches, and tying the crosshairs with a cord (item 3) or a bow is unreliable.

The easiest way would be to make the arcs tangential and tighten the joint tightly with braid or elastic, pos. 4 and 5. If the legs of the arcs are connected with a strip of plywood 3-4 mm thick, then the tent from them will be no less durable and convenient for assembly and disassembly than a hinged one. Connecting the legs of the arcs with plywood is also easy: wooden plugs are driven into their ends, and a screed strip is attached to them from the bottom with self-tapping screws. Next, visible wooden parts are sanded and painted.

In cramped living conditions or, say, when the whole family goes to the country for a long time, a developmental mat-bed with one arc can be useful. In this case, her legs are placed in pockets sewn on the outside of the sides. For the child to sleep, so that the relief of the rug does not put pressure, a mattress is placed.

About the figures for the rug

Figures for the educational rug, as already mentioned, are sewn. Patterns of several types are given in Fig. Tree, top left - simple applique. These details are sewn onto a green flap in the form of a crown. But the hippopotamus, so beloved by little ones, is already something like a textile cameo: it is made of 3 layers of identically shaped scraps of different colors. In the subsequent flaps, from bottom to top, windows are cut through which the previous or lower layer is visible. The figures from the set on the right are made in one technique or another.