Busy Hands: Stickers and Shapes

As a mother homeschooling two full time schoolers, one part time schooler, and two more little ones underfoot, I understand the necessity of always having various attention getters for the little ones so that you can get that 10-15 minute lesson in.  (If you’re following CM, that’s all the time it takes for one lesson!  That’s why this method works so nicely for large families and especially ones with small children).  It is of equal importance that these attention getters are easy to put together and consist of things you have around the house.  In this series, I will be sharing the things that keep my little ones the busiest, and here’s a hint, it ain’t the new toys they got for Christmas!

Stickers and Shapes

I have not yet met a child that does not enjoy stickers.  It’s a fun picture that magically sticks wherever you put it.  Who doesn’t enjoy that?  Well, it is a little frustrating when they stick to you and you can’t get them off… but that’s another subject and problem all together.

Anyway, I capitalize on stickers and buy them in bulk when I can find the cheap, out of season booklets that have the little round smilies, leaves, heart, etc. and square shapes of a similar picture.  Those are the kind of stickers used for this activity.

1. Allow your child to select a colorful piece of paper. (that creates excitement because it’s special and their choice)
2. Draw circles, squares, or whatever shape of stickers you have on hand. (this is where they feel like they’re in school)
3. Show your child how to match the square stickers with the square drawn shape, or whatever shape it is that you have. (this keeps them busy)

I did this for my 2 1/2 yr old and she loved it and did surprisingly well.  I was sure she would put the stickers all over, including herself and the desk.  But I was wrong!  She put every sticker in it’s spot and was very into it until I got the markers out for the other kids.  That ruined the magic of the stickers.  Let’s face it, in competition of markers and stickers, the messier always wins out.  Note to self:  remember this lesson next time you think about introducing glue, glitter, or scissors and the mess maker is still awake.

You could take the time to make a really nice sheet of  shapes on the computer for printing multiple times, or you could use mine and print it directly to your colorful paper  🙂

stickers and shapes: BASIC

This is a basic square and circle page.  It’s great for a first timer as long as you have sticker shapes to match.

stickers and shapes: + STARS

This one has the addition of stars for a challenging third shape.

stickers and shapes: + COLOR

This one has color and will be the trickiest to coordinate with your sticker collection.  Use it as an idea that you can modify to fit your current sticker collection.

Another idea:  You could even take the time to put animal, automobile, holiday etc. images on your page for the child to match stickers with a picture.  It all depends on how much time you want to spend to get your 15 minutes of teaching time.

I hope your little ones enjoy this activity as much as mine did!