This Free Printable Teaching Placemat post is sponsored by Bounty Minion Prints. I'm a member of the #quickerpickerupper team, but all opinions are my own. Helping kiddos learn table manners is a great tool for life. This free printable teaching placemat is an easy visual aid to get your kitchen helpers learning to set the table for family meals. As the summer progresses, we're actually doing really well with our chores, y'all (nobody is more surprised than this girl). My older son gets up before all of us in the summer (he's one of those people who seem to require very little sleep...he did not get that from his mom). He has the dishwasher unloaded and a truckload of my outdoor plants watered before I'm even stumbling to the coffee pot. He's a dream. Not to worry, it's not all sunshine and lollipops 'round these parts. Brother bear sleeps until ten and then I become a teeth-pulling dentist trying to get him on the chore train (choo-choo...all aboard). After trial and error, we've learned that kiddo works better later in the day. So, table setting is his jam, man. He owns it. I put these placemats together to help him get all of the "tools" in the right spots. While the Emily Post etiquette book my mother gave me as a kiddo was fabulous for a preteen girl like myself, my lil' guy wasn't nearly as excited about that pass down as I *hoped* he'd be (a boy mom can dream, right?). *Side note, I still haul out that book when I set the table for fancier dinners, y'all...it makes my heart go pitter patter.* But, these simple placemats are perfection for my kiddo. We laminate ours to make them super durable and easy to clean up after each meal. To make things easier, I do grab the plates, silverware, and glasses for him (he truly can't reach them since they're in the upper cabinets). This is the queue that it's time for table-setting to commence, y'all. And he takes the job seriously, too. I like that this is a tool that will serve him well in life. Who doesn't love a man who knows which direction to place the blade of a butter knife when setting a table? You're welcome, future daughter-in-law. You're welcome. Besides the visual shapes of the plate, cup, and silverware, I included the sight words, too. This will be awesome for beginning readers to have the word-reminders right in front of them at meals. They'll be ready for those White House dinners in no time, y'all. Adding kid-friendly napkins to our table also makes the process super fun. And, just in time for the Minions movie to hit theaters on July 10, NEW Bounty Minions Prints are a fun and functional purchase for the whole family. And, I mean...who doesn't love a Minion, y'all? My kids are so excited for this one! These cute new Bounty napkins help reinforce a few key manners...one being to not use your sleeve. Ahem. Bounty Minions Prints are a must-have to make cleanup fun for the whole family. After meals, we can also use the Bounty Minion Prints Paper Towels for easy wipe up of our placemats (lamination=perfection). One towel is so durable that it can wipe up all four of our placemats in one go 'round. Like I mentioned above, I laminate our placemats for durability. I upload mine to my local print shop and then have them do the lamination, too. These are 11x17, so printing at a professional place is the way to go here. Mine were less than $5 each for printing and laminating. I've made similar mats like these for holidays and gifts over the years and they last forever with the professional laminating. Try NEW Bounty Minions Prints for the absorbency of America’s favorite quicker picker upper and the fun of Minions rolled into one. Available at a store near you. Neglect your chores like me and don't miss a thing: Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter | Follow on Pinterest | Follow on Google+ | Follow on Instagram {i linky-party here}