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It can be so hard to keep a kid entertained when they need to sit still or even worse be quiet. Whether it is for a road trip, church, or just waiting on dinner, some special toys can help a great deal. My three year old daughter loves pretending to be a firefighter and put out fires. I made her some pop up tissue paper fires to run around and play with that she loves. I wanted something else firefighter themed that she could play with quietly during those forced sitting times too. This firefighter playmat did the trick.
To prep for an upcoming road trip, I made her a lot of magnet based toys. I made her car tracks and popsicle stick puzzles, so I wanted to make her something a little different. We recently made window clings out of glue and I was really surprised at how well they stuck to the back door. It gave me the idea to try to stick these firefighter play pieces using dried glue. I made a firefighter themed playmat for my daughter, but you can use the same process to make any theme. You will just have to do a bit more work instead of using my free printable.
How to Make a Firefighter Playmat
Materials:
- Laminator (or possibly packing tape)
- Hot glue
- Magnetic tape (optional)
- Magnetic tin (optional)
Making the Pieces:
First, you need to make your background and your pieces. If you want the same firefighting scene and pieces that I used, you can print out this free printable. You can also make make your own background and pieces. I used Clip Safari to find all my images for free. Then, you need to cut out all your pieces.
Next, I laminated my background and all of my pieces. Before I had a laminator, I used packing tape on both sides to create a similar surface. That would probably work for this, but there are so many fun laminator crafts, I would recommend just getting one. After cutting them all out again, I put hot glue on the back of all my small pieces. I tried to spread a thin layer over most of the back of all of them. This is what makes the pieces stick a bit to the laminated background.
At this point, you can call your playmat done. Since I wanted my preschooler to be able to use it in the car, I did a few more steps. I knew that she would be using it on a cookie sheet in the car (check out these other cookie sheet crafts). So, I put magnetic tape on the back of the laminated background. My thought was if the background was firmly attached to the cookie sheet, then the pieces would less likely get spilled all over. I also bought a magnetic tin to keep the pieces in. Now she had a place to put the pieces she wasn’t playing with that also stuck to the cookie sheet.
Conclusion of Firefighter Playmat for Travel, Busy Bag, or Quiet Time
I really didn’t know how this one was going to turn out. I was afraid that it wouldn’t stick at all, my daughter would show no interest, or all the pieces would end up everywhere. Thankfully, it all turned out pretty good. The glue definitely helped keep the pieces in place. Below is a picture of what happened when I turned the cookie sheet vertical. A lot of the pieces stayed put, but a few did fall. I only wanted them to not slide all over the place and get lost, so this was more than good enough.
When I gave this to my daughter to play with in the car, she enjoyed playing with it. She asked what several things were and then put a few fires out and had a firefighter put them out with the hose. Then, she started chopping down the fires with the little axes. She also didn’t lose any pieces, so I think the glue and the magnetic container did their jobs well. It ended up being her favorite thing to play with in the car. Overall, it was a big success. What themed playmat would your child like the most?
While this was definitely a favorite car activity, make sure to check out what else I made and brought my daughter on our road trip.
