Toddler Sticky Wall

As of today I no longer have a baby in my house! Ellette is now 1 and officially a toddler. I’m using her birthday as a perfect opportunity to showcase a toddler appropriate activity, especially because some of our recent posts have been geared toward preschool aged kids and not very transferrable to little ones.

Don’t get me wrong, Vaila and Brinley both love sticky walls as well! I think this is a fun activity that is super simple to put together and can keep the kids entertained for quite a while. I love a mixed age activity that can be set up quickly and allows everyone to participate at the same time!

toddler and preschool sticky wall activity

I keep Con-tact paper on hand for these sticky wall activities. I’ll be adding more seasonal and holiday themed ideas on the blog in the coming months, so check back here and search “sticky wall” in the search bar up top if you are looking for new ideas.

Here’s what you need

Con-tact paper. This is the perfect size for sticky walls and is easy to store.
Painter’s tape. I love this brand for activities with the kids, but we actually use a different brand for actual painting projects. The brand I linked is less sticky and easier for the kids to manipulate, making it perfect for little hands.
Any toys you can find around your house that might stick. We used:
- Stacking cups
- Reusable straws
- Markers and crayons
- Foam blocks
- Wooden pegs/clothespins
- Mega Blocks.
- Bath books
- Stamps. These were not out originally, but Vaila asked if she could get them. These are a choking hazard, so keep your eyes on your child under 2 years old if these are out.

Set up

2 minutes. I am clearly not perfect at making the contact paper flat on the wall. I’ve done better in previous attempts, but sometimes you just have to roll with the imperfections. The small bubble in the lower right-hand corner didn’t diminish the fun of this activity, so your sticky wall doesn’t need to be perfect.

Cut Con-tact paper to size. I usually roll out about 1-2 feet for each child participating so everyone has enough room.
Place Con-tact paper on the wall where you want to tape it with paper backing facing you (you should be able to read the words). Put a small piece of painter’s tape in the middle to help hold it in place while you work on the next step.
Peel the backing off one of the short sides/ends and add tape to that side. The sticky side of the Con-tact paper should be facing you and the painter’s tape will overlap this short edge to make a frame.
Continue peeling off the backing and adding painter’s tape. This can get a little tricky, so I asked Vaila to help hold one of the edges up while I taped. You could also use a taller chair pushed up against the wall or an extra piece of tape.
Continue until the whole piece of Con-tact paper is framed and hanging on the wall.

Clean up

1-2 minutes

Take all items off of the sticky wall.
Peel painter’s tape off the wall and throw tape and Con-tact paper away.

To get the toddler sticky wall party started, I first put up a few of the toys to model how to interact with this activity. Vaila loved experimenting with different objects and ran all over the house to find toys to test. It was a great lesson in weight and surface area! For us, that sounded like,

“That one fell off.”

“Why do you think it fell off?”

“Because it was too heavy.”

“Do you think this one will stick?” (as I handed her a different toy)

Then we talked about the word hypothesis and I had her guess the outcome on a few different objects. I find spending just a minute or two directly with her, even when her sisters are around, helps fill her cup and feel loved.

Vaila used the straws and markers to make a rainbow of sorts and she was very proud of herself. You can also draw on the contact paper to add color, shape, or number sorting to this activity.

I wanted to keep this sticky wall very simple, especially because Ellette was playing with it. My older girls sometimes get very focused on a task and do not like to be disrupted by a toddling little sister who likes to grab any and every toy. By keeping this completely open ended and child led, I think we avoided some disgruntled children.

I love sticky walls for pre-walkers and early walkers. It allows for some great static and dynamic balance practice, builds standing endurance, encourages reaching, and allows for some hand-eye coordination practice. Can you see my physical therapist self shining through here?

Vaila was entertained by this wall for at least an hour and it made for a wonderful quiet time activity while I was getting Ellette ready for her nap. I don’t have the kids play in their rooms for quiet time like some families. The rule in our house is no noisy toys during quiet time. It’s a clear boundary that they can understand and allows me to get some work done if needed while still hearing them and keeping them away from Ellette while she’s sleeping.

I’m a ball full of emotions thinking about my littlest one turning 1, so I’ll spare you most of the sap for today. I will say that the first year speeds by faster with each child. And having a child in kindergarten already really helps put in perspective what limited time I spent in the trenches.

I know it can feel like the night wakings and diapers are in your life forever, but they absolutely are not. In fact, Brinley needed my help in the middle of the night recently and although I was tired, I loved having that quiet time with her when no one else was awake. I genuinely miss her and all of the joy and goofiness she brings to my life during the day. It’s been a big change to not know all of the details of her day after spending SO. MUCH. time together over the last 3.5 years.

So if your eyes are stinging from yet another sleepless night, know that I see you and some mornings feel the exact same way for me. Also know you won’t always be needed so physically and intensely as your children get older. The work you are doing raising your children is the best and hardest work. You are shaping humans and I think you are doing a bang up job!

I hope you get a chance to try this sticky wall with your little ones. It’s great for a mix of ages and is simple to set up and clean up.

Share this post with friend who is in the thick of it- we have all been there or will be there and sometimes just hearing someone else’s experience makes the days seem more manageable. Now I’m going to find my tissues and watch videos of my new toddler as an infant with tears of love and pride streaming down my face.