When I was a kid, stickers were a huge part of my life. I remember having several sticker books and I was always ready to show off my newest scratch-n-sniff treasure. Hours were spent trading stickers with friends. A trip to the drugstore was often the highlight of my day, because it meant I had a chance to feed my sticker addiction.
Oh, how simple life was in the 80′s.
Kids today still enjoy stickers. It might not be the obsessive hobby that it once was back in the day, but I’ve yet to meet a young child who wasn’t at least a bit intrigued by the sticky wonders.
We go through stickers like crazy at our house. Shape Practice, Peel & Stick Letter Matching Game, Alphabet Checkers, and 3D Word Search For Kids are just a few of the activities we’ve done using stickers. We also use stickers for art and craft projects, and I always stash some in my purse to keep the little ones entertained when we get stuck waiting somewhere.
Today, I decided to let Zahir (age 2) work on his early math skills, using stickers to make a graph.
What you need:
- Paper
- Marker
- Stickers
- Ruler (optional)
I started by using a ruler and marker to make straight lines to form columns on a sheet of paper. Then, I wrote a number in each column (I kept it simple with numbers 1-5, but certainly you could make it more challenging if your child is ready).
Next, I handed over the stickers and he got to work.
Peeling off the stickers is great for fine motor development and eye-hand coordination…
As he peeled off the stickers, we counted them, and I showed him how to place them on the graph…
Of course, more stickers ended up on his body and on the floor, than on the actual graph. That’s life with a toddler !
Counting and one-to-one correspondence are so easy to incorporate into daily life using simple activities like this. Such a great way to introduce these important, basic, early math skills. Plus, stickers are fun !
Do you have a favorite activity using stickers ? Were you a sticker fanatic in your younger years like I was ? Share with us…