: Cute Cloth Napkin Set :

My preschooler attends a local Montessori school. His particular school requires that he brings a cloth napkin in his lunch every day. I bought him some white napkins originally, but I recently decided they are a little boring. So, I decided to make a few napkins that have some character.

Materials

4  13-inch squares of your pattern fabric

4  13-inch squares in various matching colored fabric

Sewing Machine

Pins

Scissors

Thread in color of your choice

Directions

1. 
   
   Pin your solid squares to your pattern squares, right side facing inward.
2. 
   
   Sew a straight stitch around the perimeter, leaving a small opening at one corner. Unpin.
3. 
   
   Flip inside out. Iron edges. Sew a seam around the perimeter, making sure to tuck in the seam where the opening was.

This project is fun and easy for any stitcher of any level, especially for amatuers like me! Enjoy fumbling through your fabric stash and creating some cute double-sided napkins for school/work lunches, picnics, or meals at home.

: Egg Carton Counting :

Earth Day is here! There are so many ways to take care of our environment, including the reuse of household recyclables. For instance, egg cartons have countless possibilities when it comes to transforming them into other things. We will continue to use egg cartons for crafts and activities. We have already created starters for seeds with cartons that were leftover from Easter. Today, Jared used an egg carton as a counting board with individual pouches for each number.

Materials

One dozen-sized egg carton

Lentils or other dried legumes

Paper

Pen

Scissors

Tweezers

Directions

1. Simply write numbers 1 through 12 on your paper (I used an index card because it is thicker), then cut them out to fit into each slot of the carton.
2. Fill a small container with your lentils (use lima beans if lentils are too difficult).
3. Demonstrate to your child how to pick up each lentil with the tweezers and set it in each slot. Also, explain to them that the object is to put as many lentils in each slot as the corresponding number calls for.

Other Comments

This activity is wonderful for your preschooler's fine motor skills and coordination, therein. It also reinforces math/counting skills by associating the written number with actual objects counted to that number, and it gives a 3-dimensional look at numeric sequence. So, don't throw away that egg carton. Create an easy, frugal counting activity for your young child.