Playing together is a great way for parents and caregivers to bond with their kids and make unforgettable memories while teaching them real-world skills. But it can be tough sometimes for parents to know exactly the best way to play with their kids to get the most learning fun out of it.
Melissa & Doug is on the case with a play activity that’s perfect for helping toddlers and preschool age kids develop the essential life skills they’ll need for school and beyond: sticker play with our Sticker WOW! toy collection.
We’ve curated 10 fun, engaging, hands-on learning fun ideas to help prompt parents and caregivers with Sticker WOW! play tips that help kids develop real-world skills through play. Read on to get the scoop on Sticker WOW! and our play ideas for families and kids!
What is Sticker WOW!?
Sticker WOW! is a whole new way to play with stickers! It’s a fun-filled activity that lets kids stamp out stickers as they play, create, and learn. Collect them all!
What’s different about Sticker WOW!?
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Innovative Design: One-of-a-kind Sticker WOW!® features sticker stampers with 200 stickers and activity pads for mess-free fun anywhere.
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Creative, Skill-Building Play: Build skills with 24 pages of counting, matching, and more activities plus use the stamper for creative art projects.
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Collectability: Collect all the adorable sticker stamper characters, including Cupcake the Unicorn, Olive the Dinosaur, and many more!
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Refillable: Themed refill packs are sold separately and are compatible with any Sticker WOW!® sticker stamper.
Benefits of Sticker Play for Kids
Parenting experts, pediatricians, and child psychologists agree that sticker play—locating, peeling, applying, and removing stickers from surfaces—can be used to promote and reward positive behavior, and promotes a number of developmental skills that young kids and toddlers will need for their school days and beyond, including:
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Pincer Grip/C-Grip/Fine Motor Skills/Gross Motor/Hand-Eye Coordination
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Creative Expression
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Cognitive Skills: Color Recognition, Matching, Sorting, Imagination, Memory
Starting around 12-18 months, young kids can begin to explore sticker play with adult supervision, but as kids age, it’s also a great activity to promote independent play. Plus, sticker play is super-fun, and provides a sense of accomplishment that can boost a young child’s confidence.
Ten Sticker WOW! Learning Fun Ideas for Families & Kids
#1: Sticker WOW! Letter, Sound & Word Play
• Have your child stamp some Sticker WOW! stickers on a blank sheet of paper.
• Ask your child to identify the object on the sticker. Have them say the word out loud, and repeat as necessary.
• Ask your child questions: What sound does the word start with? Can you say the word? Can you name other words that start with this same sound?
• Write out age-appropriate words, and leave some letters blank. Ask your child to identify and fill in the missing letters. Give them a Sticker WOW! sticker stamp for each correct answer.
#2: Sticker WOW! Create a Sticker Scene
• Provide your kiddo with paper, crayons, markers, color pencils, etc.
• Encourage kids to decorate a blank sheet of paper with Sticker WOW! Stickers.
• Direct the kids to use the arts & crafts supplies to create a scene or story utilizing the stickers that have already been stamped.
• Ask your child to tell you the story of the scene that they’ve created!
#3: Look to the Sticker WOW! activity book
• Grab the activity book that’s included with each Sticker WOW! Bundle pack.
• Open the activity book to a random page, or ask your child for a page number.
• Go to that page and do the activity with your child, and have them lead you through the steps.
#4: Silly Sentences with Stickers!
• Write out some simple, age-appropriate phrases your child is familiar with: “The cow jumped over the moon”; “Brush your teeth before bedtime”; “Jack & Jill went up the hill”; “Let’s have a snack”, but leave selected words blank.
Pro Parenting Tip: We suggest leaving the NOUNS blank in your sentences, since the Sticker WOW! stickers come out randomly, and generally feature artwork of objects.
• Have your child use the Sticker WOW! Stamper to fill in the blank words, then have them read the story back. Because the Sticker WOW! stickers come out randomly, the kids will never know what to expect—let the silliness ensue!
#5: Sticker WOW! Printable Art
• Create or search online for some simple black & white line art scenes: gardens, outer space, the ocean, family at home, forest, safari, farm, vehicles, dinosaurs, etc.
• Use the Sticker WOW! Stickers to fill in the scenes, and decorate more with additional arts & crafts toys.
• Be sure to check out our FREE Sticker WOW! Printables, available on Melissa & Doug’s Living Playfully blog! Here’s a curated selection of free Printables from us to get you started:
✅ FREE May Printables & Activities for Kid
✅ Enjoy FREE Ms Rachel Printable Activities for Kids!
✅ Meet New Sticker WOW! Characters with FREE Printables
✅ Sticker WOW! Stamp-Along Stories: Print & Play
✅ Have Screen-Free Fun With Free Sticker WOW! Printables
#6: DIY Gift Accessories
Make homemade wrapping paper for gifts and holidays. Decorate white, brown, or colored paper with Sticker WOW! Stickers, then use the paper to wrap gifts for that special occasion with a homemade touch.
#7: Color Matching Fun
• Have your child stamp out a series of stickers on a blank sheet of paper.
• Using like-colored markers, crayons or pencils, circle or draw lines to the matching stickers of the same color.
#8: Creative Fun with a Sticker Wall
• Hang an oversized blank sheet/roll of paper on the wall, one that’s large enough and set high enough that they have to bend and stretch to use it all.
• Give them a Sticker WOW! Stamper and some refill sets, and let them go sticker wild!
#9: Practice Early Numbers
Write out numbers zero (0) through nine (9), then use Sticker WOW! stickers as visual representation for each numeral: stamp two stickers for number 2, six stickers for number 6, etc. Encourage kids to trace over the numbers with stickers.
#10: Seek & Find Motivation
For any traditional seek and find activity, use Sticker WOW! stickers to identify all the objects you find in any search.
Shop Our Sticker WOW! Toy Collection
Visit our dedicated Sticker WOW! collection page to explore our entire selection of Sticker WOW! toys, including hot new releases such as Shark, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Purple Unicorn, and more.
You can also shop our top-selling, best reviewed Sticker WOW! Bundle packs right here:
Sticker WOW!™ Dinosaur Bundle: Activity Pad & Sticker Stamper + Mini Activity Pad and 200 Refill Stickers
Sticker WOW!™ Unicorn Bundle: Activity Pad & Sticker Stamper + Mini Activity Pad and 200 Refill Stickers
Sticker WOW!™ Dog Bundle: Activity Pad & Sticker Stamper + Mini Activity Pad and 200 Refill Stickers
Sticker WOW!™ Tiger Bundle: Activity Pad & Sticker Stamper + Mini Activity Pad and 200 Refill Stickers
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For more great toy content from Melissa & Doug, follow the links below:
Shop Melissa & Doug Toys by Age
Shop Melissa & Doug Arts & Crafts Toys
Shop Melissa & Doug Sticker WOW! Toy Collection
Shop Melissa & Doug Stickers & Sticker Books
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