Have you resolved to get your kids more involved with chores around the home this year? Then learn how to make these pretty placemats. Start with a photocopier.
Mariah of Playful Learning made these very simply and we think it's a great way to make setting the table fun and reinforce a sense of accomplishment. Visit Mariah's post on Simple Kids for the easy instructions.
(Image: Playful Learning)

Ercol Bar Stool
I don't really get placemats... for me they always seem like table-clutter. But y'all like them?
I dislike them, too. I like a nice clean surface. But it gets my kiddo to eat more if one's down so I make an exception for him. When company comes over it disappears into our lid drawer, though.
I like these, and here's why - I just read the saddest comment in a local newspaper recently, from a woman who works with children in schools teaching them about healthy foods. One of her activities is learning how to set a table, because often there are kids who don't know what she's talking about and have never heard the phrase. They eat all their meals at home in front of the TV.
I like placemats. It's a quick and easy way to change the feeling of the room. I don't use them all the time, but I use them a lot.
I wish someone would make a nice set of appliqued cloth montessori placemats and sell them somewhere (like etsy). I don't want more plastic in my house and I don't have the time to sew them myself these days.