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
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
Nicole says
December 21, 2010 at 4:14 pmI love this! My daughter is always collecting her 'treasures'. It would be a fantastic keepsake too to have a photo of her treasure piles.
Scribbles and Splatters says
December 21, 2010 at 4:21 pmI 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 :)
Jen says
December 21, 2010 at 4:55 pmPerfect idea! Thanks for sharing. Merry Christmas!
Erin says
December 21, 2010 at 5:54 pmCute idea!
Erika says
December 21, 2010 at 10:35 pmI 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!
teamboyer says
December 22, 2010 at 1:06 amLove, love, love this idea! Thanks for sharing!
Makayla says
December 27, 2010 at 3:28 pmI 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.
Marla says
December 28, 2010 at 11:04 pmI LOVE this idea! I am going to make some with my 3 year old tomorrow! Thank you so much for sharing!
Maile says
January 6, 2011 at 12:06 pmThis 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!!!
Allie says
January 8, 2011 at 1:58 amTotally amazing !
joyceandnorm says
January 25, 2011 at 6:43 pmSo creative! Love it!
Anonymous says
February 16, 2011 at 2:54 pmThis 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.
Amber H says
February 16, 2011 at 5:05 pmI 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!
BusyMom says
February 16, 2011 at 9:33 pmLove 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!
Alanna says
February 17, 2011 at 3:39 pmI 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.
Alanna says
February 18, 2011 at 4:34 pmI actually made them today and my kids were thrilled. Check them out @ http://myplaceyourkids.blogspot.com
N.D. says
February 19, 2011 at 6:14 amfabulous idea!!
Krissy @ B.Inspired Vintage says
February 24, 2011 at 12:32 pmLove 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
My HomeMade Montessori Manipulatives says
February 26, 2011 at 1:08 pmThis is an awesome activity. I shall try and make one myself. Thanks for inspiration. Lisa:)
Rachel at Sun Scholars says
March 18, 2011 at 8:05 amI 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
Lori says
April 26, 2011 at 4:33 pmThis 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/
Amanda @ Gratefully Growing in Grace says
June 2, 2011 at 2:43 pmLove 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
Cindy Udris says
October 21, 2011 at 10:49 pmLove 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.
Danielle @ 52 Brand New says
September 16, 2012 at 7:17 pmMy kids will LOVE this! Thanks so much!
Danielle @ 52 Brand New says
September 16, 2012 at 7:18 pmMy kids will LOVE this! Thanks for the idea!
Dianne says
October 15, 2012 at 4:30 pmI 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.
Danielle says
February 28, 2013 at 8:12 pmI 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.
kathleen says
January 2, 2015 at 10:14 pmThank 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.
Jenae says
January 3, 2015 at 9:05 amThanks Kathleen! I hope your son enjoys these!! :)