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December 21, 2010 by Jenae - 30 Comments
This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy.

I Spy Mats

The very best thing about this gift is that it doesn’t add any more CLUTTER! You get to use the toys/items you already have to make these mats. And your child is learning visual discrimination (a cognitive process)…so it’s a win-win for everyone!

As Big Brother and I were looking at the book  Can You See What I See? The Night Before Christmas today, I remembered I made these “I Spy” mats with my first graders and they LOVED them! And since the I Spy bottle we made several months ago has been a hit, I figured this would be too!

These mats would make for an excellent way to keep your little one busy while in the car or even while making dinner! Interacting with your child while looking at them would also be a great way to help increase your younger child’s language development. Ask your child to find how many sheep, zebras, and lions there are. Have him pick out the letters in his name. Ask her to point out the different colors she sees. The possibilities are endless!

 

So…here’s what you’ll need:  a digital camera and a lot of small items (markers, puzzle pieces, small toys, etc). You can either print the pictures on an 8×10 piece of photo paper at home or send it to Walgreens, Walmart, Sam’s, etc. If running out of time, you could even just use the pictures I’ve already taken (though I think your little one would enjoy seeing their own “stuff”).

Basically, all you have to do is group the items, snap the picture, and print it out! I organized my photos by theme (transportation, learning, animals, and Christmas) and made some harder than others.

 

I would highly suggest laminating these as well! I bought this laminator from Amazon and we use it ALL THE TIME. Then I bought a package of 200 generic laminating pouches from Sam’s for $20, which is way cheaper than the name-brand! If you’re not looking to buy your own laminator, Office Max will laminate for just a few cents a foot.

*A few weeks after I posted this, I also came up with the idea for this I Spy “magnifying glass”. Check it out here.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nicole says

    December 21, 2010 at 4:14 pm

    I love this! My daughter is always collecting her 'treasures'. It would be a fantastic keepsake too to have a photo of her treasure piles.

    Reply
  2. Scribbles and Splatters says

    December 21, 2010 at 4:21 pm

    I love this! I think I'm going to bind the the pages together to make an "I spy" book! GREAT idea! Hope you have a great Christmas :)

    Reply
  3. Jen says

    December 21, 2010 at 4:55 pm

    Perfect idea! Thanks for sharing. Merry Christmas!

    Reply
  4. Erin says

    December 21, 2010 at 5:54 pm

    Cute idea!

    Reply
  5. Erika says

    December 21, 2010 at 10:35 pm

    I LOVE this idea!! I have been looking for a great idea for my nephew, and this. is. it!!! My daughter will love "making" these, too! Thanks!

    Reply
  6. teamboyer says

    December 22, 2010 at 1:06 am

    Love, love, love this idea! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  7. Makayla says

    December 27, 2010 at 3:28 pm

    I love this idea! My stepson lives far away and so I'm always trying to think of things to keep him connected with his dad. He loves I spy. What better than his toys from our house or pictures of him and his dad where he has to count how many of them there are on one page. Thanks! I had one suggestion though. As I was thinking about making this I was thinking of paying to get it laminated, but then I realized I could simply upload my pictures to hotprints. They print free simple photo books and all you have to pay is $2-3 in shipping.

    Reply
  8. Marla says

    December 28, 2010 at 11:04 pm

    I LOVE this idea! I am going to make some with my 3 year old tomorrow! Thank you so much for sharing!

    Reply
  9. Maile says

    January 6, 2011 at 12:06 pm

    This is fantastic. I've been needing something like this and I am also going to make one with family photos. We have lots of family that lives out of town and my son loves to see pictures of them. Great idea. Thanks!!!

    Reply
  10. Allie says

    January 8, 2011 at 1:58 am

    Totally amazing !

    Reply
  11. joyceandnorm says

    January 25, 2011 at 6:43 pm

    So creative! Love it!

    Reply
  12. Anonymous says

    February 16, 2011 at 2:54 pm

    This idea would be cute using cutouts from magazines and ads too. For example, I made a "foods" mat yesterday using images from Sunday's ads. I also bought the laminator and love it.

    Reply
  13. Amber H says

    February 16, 2011 at 5:05 pm

    I jumped to your site from a link on Money Saving Mom's site. Wow! What an excellent idea! My daughter is just under 2, so some of the craft ideas, while great, just aren't within the realm of what she is capable of yet. (Of course I bookmark them, but I've been looking for great stuff for now!) I am so, SO excited to try this out. I think my nephews (5 & 3) will also love it. Only wish I had my own laminator, but I will figure something out. Great post :) Thank you!

    Reply
  14. BusyMom says

    February 16, 2011 at 9:33 pm

    Love it. I totally planned to do this the other day. My daughter pulled out our I Spy Game and as she was playing, i thought how nice it would be to make custom mats.

    I like the lamination idea, I wasn't going to do that.

    Mats work great for travel too!

    Reply
  15. Alanna says

    February 17, 2011 at 3:39 pm

    I amso happy I found your blog. I have a blog for caregivers and parents and this is so wonderfully full of perfect ideas. I have linked your eye spy activity to my blog. It just had to be shared.
    http://myplaceyourkids.blogspot.com/ Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  16. Alanna says

    February 18, 2011 at 4:34 pm

    I actually made them today and my kids were thrilled. Check them out @ http://myplaceyourkids.blogspot.com

    Reply
  17. N.D. says

    February 19, 2011 at 6:14 am

    fabulous idea!!

    Reply
  18. Krissy @ B.Inspired Vintage says

    February 24, 2011 at 12:32 pm

    Love this idea. We're doing "A is for Animals" right now for our preschool homeschooling. I think I will have my little ones help me make an animal one. Thanks so much for the inspiration! I've linked to your post on my blog today at:

    http://binspiredmama.blogspot.com/2011/02/8-i-spy-kids-activities-and-ideas.html

    Reply
  19. My HomeMade Montessori Manipulatives says

    February 26, 2011 at 1:08 pm

    This is an awesome activity. I shall try and make one myself. Thanks for inspiration. Lisa:)

    Reply
  20. Rachel at Sun Scholars says

    March 18, 2011 at 8:05 am

    I just love these!

    I'd love to have you share at my For the Kids Friday Link Party! I'm sure you'll find some fun ideas while you are there! Come join the fun!

    http://sunscholars.blogspot.com/2011/03/for-kids-friday-3.html

    Reply
  21. Lori says

    April 26, 2011 at 4:33 pm

    This is the BEST idea!!!! I'm sharing it on my blog and linking back to your post. I love it!!! A lot! I think my readers will too. Thank you for sharing it with us!
    http://mymontessorimoments.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/i-spy-mat/

    Reply
  22. Amanda @ Gratefully Growing in Grace says

    June 2, 2011 at 2:43 pm

    Love this idea so much. Thanks to your inspiration, we did it at our house and it has been a big hit:
    http://gratefullygrowingingrace.blogspot.com/2011/06/i-spy-book.html

    Reply
  23. Cindy Udris says

    October 21, 2011 at 10:49 pm

    Love this idea and will be making “I Spy” pages with my students at school. Plan on using clear contact paper instead of laminating. Thanks everyone for sharing.

    Reply
  24. Danielle @ 52 Brand New says

    September 16, 2012 at 7:17 pm

    My kids will LOVE this! Thanks so much!

    Reply
  25. Danielle @ 52 Brand New says

    September 16, 2012 at 7:18 pm

    My kids will LOVE this! Thanks for the idea!

    Reply
  26. Dianne says

    October 15, 2012 at 4:30 pm

    I often print pictures (or other pages I want to use over and over) on cardstock. It is still rather durable and less expensive than laminating or using photo paper.

    Reply
  27. Danielle says

    February 28, 2013 at 8:12 pm

    I love this idea, but have not accumulated enough to do this since my son is only 4 months old. I’d love to do this for my 2 year old nephew. Do you share? If not, I’d be willing to pay to get a pdf of the pictures you took! Thanks for your help.

    Reply
  28. kathleen says

    January 2, 2015 at 10:14 pm

    Thank you for this great idea. My son LOVES I-spy books and will love helping me design and take the pics for the I-spy mats.

    Reply
    • Jenae says

      January 3, 2015 at 9:05 am

      Thanks Kathleen! I hope your son enjoys these!! :)

      Reply

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    • Developmental Domains of Early Childhood
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