Stickers are a wonderful activity for practicing fine motor skills. The boys went through a few months of requesting them every day. But there were two problems:
- Not all stickers are toddler friendly. Some of them are challenging for me to peel the backing off. And so instead of an independent activity while I wash up the breakfast dishes, it turned into an activity that required my constant hovering and more nimble fingers.
- Sometimes the speed at which toddlers fly through those $7 sticker books makes me feel like I need to ration them out each day.
And then I was at the Dollar Tree and saw the white sticker dots they have in the office supplies section. They come in packs of over 300 stickers for just over a dollar.
We lay out the sheets of stickers and paint them with watercolors or finger paints. Then we have plenty of stickers to last for all the stickering projects their little hearts desire. If the grid is peeled off, I can just hand the two year olds a sheet and they can peel them off independently.
I initially loved them just because they were significantly more cost effective than other stickers. But I’ve actually grown to really love the personality that they bring to their artwork as well!
MATERIALS:
- White Dot Stickers
- Fingerpaints, Watercolors, Acrylic Paint
PROCESS:
- Paint the sheets of white stickers. (In our most recent batch, the stickers were a little more waxy. Finger paints or thicker watercolors worked better on them.)
- Allow the sheets to dry.
- For less nimble fingers, you can peel off the grid around the dots to allow your child more independence in the stickering process.
ACTIVITIES:
- Use the stickers to decorate greeting cards. (They work beautifully to make into balloons on a birthday card!)
- Write the child’s name on a paper in large letters and have them put stickers on the outline of the letters.
- Make a rainbow.
- Use the stickers to decorate Kraft paper gift bags or wrapping paper.
- Write some numbers on a piece of paper and use the stickers for counting practice. Have the child place the appropriate number of dots next to each number.
- Use wooden tumbling blocks or large popsicle sticks to make your own color dominoes.
- Use them to create your own color sorting materials.
There are endless ways these stickers can be used. I’d love to hear any new ways you think to use them!
(If you have a child that is still teething or drooling, just be aware that the paint will smudge on these when wet and thus, also onto their drool covered fingers and wherever their drool covered fingers might go.)
