D is for Dinner time

So what do you do to keep the kids busy in that last 5 minutes before dinner time?  You know when you are trying to get the food on the plates and they either want to help (too many hot things to touch) or they want to play right at your feet.

I came across these great printable placemats from MamaMiss. There are four to choose from – alphabet colour, alphabet black & white, food groups and mealtime.

I have used the alphabet black & white ones with Bear and Bee and it certainly kept them engaged at the dinner table.  By using whiteboard (dry erase) markers they could trace over, or scribble over actually, the letters of the alphabet.

Both of the girls help set the table for dinner with one putting out the knives and forks for mum and dad and the other putting out the knives and forks for themselves and their sister.  They pretty much know where to put things from watching us do it with the placemats reinforcing where things go and also helping with keeping things contained during dinner – rather than ending up with plates, cutlery and cups spread all over the table or ending up on the floor. 

I plan on trying the other placemats with them too in the future.  They could also be used for playdough play and make good props for pretend play. 

What do you do to keep your child busy right before dinner?