When the day is dragging by, pull out a packet of stickers and some imagination for an afternoon of fun and learning.
Toddlers can be demanding and moody, but are typically easy to please. They don’t need complex toys or bells and whistles. Here are some ideas for ways to amuse a toddler with a simple pack of stickers:
Create “Flashcards”
- Use scrap paper, junk mail envelopes or whatever is one hand for some simple and fun flashcards.
- Small stickers are great for number flash cards. Create one card each for the numbers one through ten. Place the corresponding number of stickers on each card. This works best with sticker packs of flowers, dogs, cars, etc.
- With variety stickers, place one on each card and label the card clearly. The card can have the name of the item pictured on the sticker, the color of the sticker, or another identifying label.
Use the Stickers as the Basis for a Story
- Have the child choose 5 or 6 stickers. Create a story about the items pictured in the story.
- Place a few stickers on a blank sheet of paper. Ask the child questions about the stickers and what might be happening. They can then draw the rest of the picture around the stickers.
Sticker Hide and Seek
- Place a sticker on a body and announce, “There’s a car sticker on your [body part].” Switch things around and say, “Can you put the car sticker on my [body part]?”
- Stick reusable stickers around a room and give the child clues to where to find them. For example, “Go over to the bookshelf. Look down low near the ground.” Make sure the stickers won’t do permanent damage to walls or furniture before trying this one!
Sticker Puppets and Dolls
- The stickers can be placed on fingertips to act as finger puppets. Alternately, they can be placed on the end of popsicle sticks or other objects.
- Stickers can make fashionable clothes for paper dolls. Cut figures out of magazines and “dress” them with colorful stickers.
Sticker Game Pieces
- Make replacements for missing game pieces, or parts for made-up board games using favorite stickers. Stickers are great for markers, spinners, spots on a game board, etc.
Sticker Tips
- Foil stickers are sturdy and can survive several of the above games. Once they are no longer “sticky,” they can have a second life as a sticker puppet, game piece, etc. with just a dab of glue.
- Educational supply and office stores often carry value packs of small stickers. One pack can provide hours of fun.
- Vinyl “stickers,” similar to the Colorforms many parents will remember from childhood, are wonderful for in-car play and for indoor window games.
Sticker fun is only limited to the creativity of the parent and child. They are an inexpensive and quiet way to pass the time. Head on out and buy a few packs to keep for emergencies!
The copyright of the article Fun With a Package of Stickers in Infant/Toddler Play is owned by Christy Matte. Permission to republish Fun With a Package of Stickers must be granted by the author in writing.
