Sticky Window Tree

What you need

• a big piece of sticky-back plastic
• masking tape
• squares of tissue paper and scraps of wrapping paper, each about the size of your palm

How to do it

1. Show your toddler the sticky side of the tree and let them pat it to feel how it grabs.
2. Hand them one paper square at a time and help them press it flat onto the tree.
3. Keep going, naming each colour, until the tree is full.
4. Step back together and look at the light shining through the coloured tree.

Why it matters

Paper that sticks with one press is an easy win for small hands, and picking up flat squares builds the finger-and-thumb grip.

What they're learning

Finger and thumb

Picking up a flat square of paper takes a careful pinch, the same grip they will use for crayons and buttons.

Colours

Hearing "red" and "green" each time a square goes on links the word to the colour.

Making together

A tree you filled together and can see every day is something they made with you.

What to look for

Watch for them picking up a square with finger and thumb instead of a whole fist. Stay close, nothing in mouths.

A tip

Stick the plastic low enough for them to reach while standing, and leave the tree up for a few days to add more.

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