Finding a simple but productive way to keep an energetic toddler occupied for an extended period — enough to let you get some tasks off of your to-do list or a bit of me-time — is a dilemma every parent faces. Some moms and dads might think they need to buy interesting new toys or give their kids a gadget to watch their favorite cartoons or YouTube videos.
The good news? Even without spending too much, you can set up different kinds of interesting toddler activities that will both let you hit three birds with one stone: hold your child’s attention, teach her important skills and improve those she has already learned, and get some downtime.
One such activity you can try out is Sticker Line-Up from Susie Allison, a teacher-turned-stay-at-home-mom who runs the blog, Busy Toddler.
How to set up the Sticker Line-Up Activity
First, prepare the materials you need: paper (cut horizontally), colored dot stickers, and a marker.
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOWRoll out the paper, and using the marker, draw a line down the center of the paper. Make it a mix of straight, diagonal, loopy, curly, and zig-zag lines. Once you’re done, set the paper down in front of your child and give her the stickers. All she needs to do is use these stickers to “trace” the line.
Later on, you can add your own spin to this activity. For example, you can ask her to use stickers to trace letters, which would also be a great way to help your child practice her alphabet.
A few tweaks might also be necessary in case your toddler is not yet developmentally ready for an activity like this. Susie wrote that she tried giving her child a plain piece of paper and some stickers to play with freely. This simpler version was just as engrossing for her little one!
Skills your child will learn through the Sticker Line-Up Activity
In addition to holding your child’s interest, the Sticker Line-Up activity is a fun tool your child can use to practice different skills that will benefit her in the future, especially when she starts going to school.
The first is concentration. To an adult, this activity might not seem like it would require a lot of work to do, but it might pose a bit of a challenge for toddlers and require them to put in more effort. According to Kid Sense Child Development, concentration is a skill that will help your child focus on a certain task and eventually finish it.
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOWRecommended VideosThe Sticker Line-Up activity is also an enjoyable way for your child to develop her fine motor skills, particularly her pincer grip, which involves pressing the thumb and index finger together. Peeling stickers from their sheet and attaching them on the paper lets your child develop her pincer grip, which can also help her perfect the grip needed for activities like writing and drawing.
A third skill this activity can promote is hand-eye coordination or the ability to process information received through the eyes to guide and control the hands in performing various tasks, which is an important factor in developing balance and coordination. Without this skill, your child might have a difficult time doing tasks like writing or catching a ball.
Toddler activities like the Sticker Line-Up activity can encourage your little one’s color recognition skills. This is a key step in cognitive development and also helps your child learn how to recognize different objects and use descriptive language when she communicates, according to the Creative Discovery Museum.
Other benefits of the Sticker Line-Up Activity
Finally, aside from teaching your child important skills, this simple and fuss-free activity will let you have the downtime you need and deserve! In an Instagram post about this activity, Susie shared that Sticker Line-Up is an absolute hit in her household — not just for her little ones, but also for her!
“This is my go-to activity when I need a serious Union Break from the kids and a few minutes away from ‘but, why…’ questions,” she said.
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOWShe also wrote in her blog post that if you’re a mom who’s craving for a few minutes to sip on some hot coffee, this activity is something you might want to try with your child.
Are you interested in trying this or other toddler activities at home? Tell us about your experience below!
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