Like most toddlers, two-year-old Anna is very curious and she likes to explore her world. I have a nice collection of simple activities that help her explore the world that in ways that don’t create chaos! Making a sticker scene is a quick and easy toddler AND big kid activity that all of my kids enjoy. It’s also a great way for kids to work on fine motor and storytelling skills!
Since we had vehicle-themed stickers, we drew some simple roads on a sheet of paper and set Anna free. Anna has just gotten into cars (although she calls them choo-choos), and especially school buses (which she does correctly call buses – do you see the bus she put on her paper?), so these stickers were perfect for her. Johnny kept her company, helping her with some of the trickier stickers and turning this into a nice sibling bonding activity.
Anna wound up adding some drawn details to her page, and Johnny made up a story to go with her picture. It was a great sibling bonding activity that they both enjoyed!
Stickers are one of my favorite craft supplies to have on hand. They are great for encouraging kids to write physical letters to friends and families, they encourage storytelling, and they are great ice breakers for shy friends who come visit. They are also very easy to use and not very messy, although I have found that foam stickers can be really hard to get off of furniture and floors! Felt stickers are actually the least likely to cause problems, but they are a little pricey for everyday use.
What are your favorite toddler activities? Many of our favorite toddler activities are in this post, and you can find most of my favorites from other bloggers on my toddler activities Pinterest board!
MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
We are big sticker fans here too… I remember when my middle boy was a toddler and his ‘big’ 4 year old twin sisters sat patiently trying to teach him how to peel and stick stickers… pity he was only 1 and had no idea! LOL
What a beautiful series of photos! Thanks for the tip about felt stickers not being too hard to get off things. My kids love getting stickers from their music teachers.
Lily’s violin teacher put stickers on her bow to help her see where to play, and she loved that.
The Usborne stickers are also usually easy to get off – and their sticker books are wonderful, if you can find them in Australia.
We have done this so many times! This is so simple, but keeps them occupied. Especially, cars, trucks, dinos and dragons and people :)
It’s such an easy way to keep little ones happy and busy!
Stickers are so great, aren’t they? 10 year old Emma has a sticker book, and she loves to trade with her friends.
I loved my sticker book as a kid!
This reminds me that I need to get stickers for my kids! My eldest asked for some :) Your kids are so cute; it’s true these little moments are such bonding moments. I also like stickers because they helped my kids with the pincer grab.
You’re right – stickers really do help with pincer grab! I love that something as simple as a sheet of stickers can make a kid so happy.
My kids loved stickers too and I love how it can turn into a story! I wish I had captured more of their stories via stickers! What a fun and easy learning activity! I love it!
Stickers are such an easy way to make kids really happy – and to help them learn!
Those pictures of Anna and Johnny are SO sweet!
Thank you! They are very good friends.
What a sweet activity for them to do together! I love stickers for toddlers, because, like you said, they’re just so simple and great for fine motor skills too! My preschooler likes to use them to tell stories. :)
My oldest daughter loved to use them as finger puppets as a preschooler – https://www.mamasmiles.com/instant-finger-puppets/ :)
Love this idea:) I’m always looking for quick and easy toddler activities, and this one definitely fits the bill. I’m looking forward to trying it out this weekend:) As for another easy sticker activity idea: Last night, we gave my 2-year-old daughter some mailing label stickers that arrived to play with, and that provided a good 20 minutes of activity for her (she had fun pretending they were band-aids and putting them on my husband, and then pulling them off, which I don’t think was so fun for him).
Brilliant! I love seeing the games toddlers come up with!
I used to love doing this with the kid, though the little papers from the foam stickers would drive me nuts
They can definitely be a pain to clean up.
Very nice use of stickers! I always had to watch that my toddlers didn’t try to eat them :) A big brother is perfect for helping with that, too.
I am lucky that Anna doesn’t eat anything – and hasn’t for a long time.