I’ve been known to sew all new tablecloths for birthday parties using enough children’s size tables to seat 12 kids with real dish ware and glasses, and tablecloths of course. When my middle daughter’s teacher at her Montessori school started hinting that she would love to have tablecloths for the children to use at snack time, I stored it in my brain waiting to get the time to do it.
Friday’s Thanksgiving breakfast was the perfect time to surprise her with them. Actually, my daughter took them to school the day before, with 10 new glass vases and three bouquets of flowers to decorate the room. This is the fourth straight year I have had a child in this classroom with the same two teachers. And at this rate, it will be another four between my three girls.
Below are a few pictures of the room, which is shared by the 19 students in the class, ranging in ages from 3-6. The set up with the metal bowls is a washing station for the children to wash their own dishes after snack time. The last one is a bit blurry (sorry about that). I was putting my new iPhone 4s camera to the test. Next time I’ll take my Nikon.
The tablecloths were sewn using back-to-back coordinating fabrics to be reversible and provide more options for different seasons. They are 45″x 33″ sewn inside out, then stitched around the edges. They are simple enough that anyone with a sewing machine could manage this. I made seven of them in three hours, from nap time to snack to a having my toddler nursing while I sewed – always an interesting combination! But it got the job done.
They are lovely if I don’t say so myself. Fabrics and flowers always add a perfect burst of color. Then again, making this Montessori room shine is simple to do, because it is already so fabulous. Every time I step foot into the girls classrooms I feel so blessed to have them going to school there.
This is lovely! What a thoughtful addition to their classroom. And something they can use for years to come.