Two items that can be found in most families’ homes are balloons and stickers. Both have so much potential for fun and learning. Today, we teamed them up to create Sticker Balloons! A fun, and creative fine motor toddler activity.
Sticker Balloons
So many kids love stickers. There is something special about these affordable sticky bits of paper with their colourful designs that kids just love. With so many different types available, it is easy to follow your child’s interests by sourcing stickers to suit their passion of the moment. Today we took this simple resource and teamed them up with another versatile household item. All three of my children enjoyed this seemingly basic activity. The two older ones decorated balloons for our neighbour’s grandchildren and Mr 19 was thrilled with his end result.
What you need to create Sticker Balloons:
Yes, that is all. Two simple ingredients for a great fine motor activity!
Choose stickers that align with their interests to encourage your child to engage in this activity. If your toddler loves cars, get some car stickers. If they like bugs, get some garden friends stickers. Playing to your child’s interest is a powerful way of encouraging them to participate.
How to set up your Sticker Balloon Activity:
To start with, blow the balloon up and tie it off to keep it inflated.
Experience has taught us that sticker removed from a balloon that has been blown up to its full potential, pops easily. For this reason, we keep our balloons modestly sized and they last longer. They are also more resilient to having stickers picked off without popping too.
Add stickers!
For younger toddlers or those just starting out with stickers, removing the ‘background’ or the sticker paper from between the stickers makes it easier for them to remove the stickers. I peeled the background from Mr 19m sticker sheet to encourage him to lift the stickers himself. He tried a few times, however, got frustrated so I peeled them most of the way up for him to lift. We kept the experience within the scope of his abilities and will offer opportunities for him to continue to refine these skills as time goes by.
The kids each covered their balloons with their stickers. As we were positioning his stickers, Mr 19m and I were discussing the size and colours of his dinosaur stickers. We made dinosaur noises and discussed the names and diets of each of them.
Not only was this activity engaging and loved by all three ages (19m, 5 and 8) but there was so much learning happening too.
- Fine motor skills
- Hand-eye coordination
- Bilateral coordination
- Creative thinking
- Turn-taking
Another perfect example of how the most basic of activities can be amongst the most successful. Sticker balloons were a hit! The kids loved decorating their balloons and have asked to make more. Happy days, learning through play!
For more fun toddler activity ideas why not join our Facebook Group or follow us on Instagram – follow @myboredtoddler and use #myboredtoddler.
SOME MORE FUN TODDLER ACTIVITY IDEAS YOU MIGHT ENJOY ARE:
Frozen Dinosaur Eggs
12 Easy Crafts for Toddlers
About the Author
Dani is a busy stay-at-home Mum of 3 and an early childhood teacher in training who is passionate about play-based learning throughout early childhood. For educational play ideas that you can do at home and parenting tips visit Play Inspired Mum Check her out on Instagram andFacebook