Made Venus A Play Mat

[Taw5106]

Today I made a play mat for Venus and she helped. Husband tried to take a picture of her all over the mat picking up and tossing the toys. Not many on here yet but I haven't really been to the stores. I'm looking for a grass mat but haven't found one so I got a cotton, rag mat and some more toys. Venus isn't a picker with fabric but I'm watching her. Also the cotton is clean and smooth so I said I'll try it. We hung it on the wall next to her play too and she went to town!! LOL!!!

Buddy is my chicken. A mat is too big so I introduced some toys in his cage, the ball Venus is tugging on her mat and a new kabob. He loves kabobs but he's got to get comfortable first, aye.

 

[RavensGryf]

Nice Tracey . That's clever with the rug. I get the seagrass mats from MSBS and they're very inexpensive. http://www.mysafebirdstore.com/CUSTOMER_FAVORITES-Seagrass_Mat_Large.html They also have "small" ones which are 14"x14". Trouble is, around here, they are mostly interested in the mat part, and the toys fall off as the mat gets smaller and smaller lol.

 

[chris-md]

How clever Tracey! I'll have to do somehign similar for Parker, more a foraging wall since he doesn't play with much more than bells. Loves foraging though!

 

[Anansi]

Venus looks like she approves, Tracey! I bet she loses her mind with that receipt paper roll, doesn't she? Nice!

Keep the pics coming as you add more toys!

 

[Allee]

Great idea, Tracey! Venus looks pleased with her new foraging wall!

 

[Taw5106]

Thank you everyone. I am stunned over this mat. She loves the receipt paper roll (cracks me up to hear the paper getting handled, lol), the spoons (she loves spoons), and the balls with the bells. This morning she didn't want to come to me, here is a pic below of her first thing, the mat won over me! I'm going to a couple of dollar stores today and hoping to find some new toys like the finger hand cuffs so she can shred them. I did find some Kong like toys and thought about getting one, stuffing it with shredded paper and put some almonds in it. Buddy has a toy I do this with and he loves going through it to get his goodies.

Julie, I also looked up the mats like you said and have two on order. I'm making Buddy his mat next, the fun part will showing him and getting him to like it and touch it. I'm planning on having him with me when I make it, group activity hoping that when he sees me touching toys he'll want to check them out.

And Stephen, I used zip ties, lol!!!!! She has me cracking up! She is trying so hard to take on of her balls and throw it on the ground, but it looks like a soccer play head butting the ball over and over, lolllllll! She's discovered the offending culprit is a zip tie and will stop, grab and tug the zip tie, give up and go back to head butting the ball like crazy. I'm loving this mat and I'm trying to record her but she stops when she sees the phone lol.

 

[Anansi]

Hahahahahaha! The image of her head-butting her "soccer ball" cracks me up! And I'm definitely going to pick up a few of those receipt rolls for Jolly and Maya! Great idea!

 

[Blueridge]

Haha that's really clever!! I might have to try to make my own!! Thanks for the idea!

 

[Taw5106]

Added some new toys and it's so much fun it's addictive, lol. I found cooking utensils and brightly colored bangles at the dollar store. While I was preparing them to add to the mat, Venus appeared on her own to help. She had to critique and test the new toys as I was putting them on the mat, lol. This Matt is awesome! She has learned to crawl on the top perch of her play top to play with the higher toys. She has even pushed her mega block so she can step up on it, too freaking smart!

 

[RavensGryf]

That's nice Tracey, I like the brightly colored utensils. I'd play with those! I might think about using a rug or something like that next time too, instead of a seagrass mat. I like the idea, since I'm tired of having only the mat shredded and the toys ignored lol. Or I can just hang up a plain mat...

 

[Anansi]

Sweet, Tracey! The mat I'd getting better and better! And from the sounds of it, she appreciates your efforts!

 

[Taw5106]

I took half the utensils and put them in Buddy's cage. He quickly exited the cage and hasn't gone back in. Venus went into his cage and ran to the new toy, lol. I got her out and now she's circling his cage like a shark. Buddy is watching the new toy, his world has. Been disrupted, lol.

 

[Anansi]

Hahahahahaha! Poor Buddy. But I'm sure he'll come to appreciate it as much as Venus... eventually.

 

[Anansi]

Love the pic, too! Right in the middle of his great escape. Hahaha!