I love stickers and not just because of their power to reward kids with something small that isn’t sugar but because they pack a lot of punch in the fine motor skills department. Peeling those little suckers off the sheet is tricky for little fingers. This is a great fine motor activity to turn to when you don’t have a ton of time to play. Add in new stickers and the whole activity has new life. Add in some crayons and it’s like new again. After I shot some photos I got a load of laundry together, wiped down the bathroom , and got dressed while my little one was happily adding more and more stickers and unbeknownst to her she was working out her fine motor skills too.
Gather your materials. You will need some stickers, an envelope, some plain paper, and painter’s tape or thumbtacks.
Start by taping your paper to the wall. I like using blue painter’s tape for two reasons; first to save my wall from being wrecked, second because it gives children a clear boundary to the area where it’s OK to add stickers and where it is not.
Put all your stickers in the envelope. Ours is plastic but a plain paper one would work just as well. You can attach it with painter’s tape too or if it’s really heavy use thumbtacks. Remember that thumbtacks are never safe with children who are still putting things in their mouths. Please use caution and know your child’s abilities and make any adaptations you may need to in order to make the activity safe for your child.
Add your little person. I didn’t explain anything. I just said ” I made you a sticker wall.” and she got right to it.
This is not a structured activity. If your child invites you to participate by all means do but don’t feel you must or should. While my daughter was adding stickers she created little stories to go along with them but if your child doesn’t that is OK. They may sort the stickers, line them up, or make an overall design. They may also randomly add one or two and walk away. I wouldn’t give up but I wouldn’t push. I would see if you had any stickers that better appeal to them , add some crayons to the mix, and leave it up for a few days before giving up. It’s OK for activities to tank too. While this simple sticker station was a big hit with my daughter doesn’t mean your child will love it or that you did anything wrong if they don’t. I have come up with many activities my kids haven’t adored. Move on and don’t worry.
Kristie says
What a cute idea!
Debs says
Fun! I like the tip about the blue painters tape for setting boundaries. Good idea. I too have had to make sticker walls for the kids to stick stickers on (otherwise they stick them everywhere!). I found that sticking them on contact paper means that you can still reuse the stickers if you want and it’s still easy to move the whole lot off the wall without any mess. 🙂
Katie says
Cute idea. I’m a fan of only using stickers as a fun fine motor activity in my preschool class. I find when you give stickers out as rewards you start finding them all over the floor and furniture. This definitely helps contain the clean up.
Jaimi@TheStayatHomeMomSurvivalGuide says
This is genius, Allison! The tape border is a fantastic way to make this adaptable for multiple age groups. I am setting this up for my preschool-age child in the morning. (I bet my first grader will want to try it too.)
Katy says
I can’t wait to try this on our kitchen-adjacent wall tomorrow. My two year old daughter has lost interest in so many independent activities I have set up for her that getting dinner ready has been difficult for about a week. I needed an idea for something fun and new. This is right up her alley! Thank you!!!
Beatriz Salgado says
This is a great idea, we do sticker books at my daycare, each kid has its own composition book, it’s a game for them, they roll the dice and that’s how many stickers they r getting, sometimes we even trade stickers. Some of the kids have had their sticker books for a couple of years. Some of them are on their second book.