Toddler activities with painter's tape
15 activities in the library use painter's tape, for toddlers aged 12 to 36 months: 5 starting 12–17 months, 3 starting 18–23 months and 7 starting from 24 months. Low-tack tape that sticks to floors, walls and tables and peels off without much damage. It makes roads, lines, shapes and frames, and peeling it is a fine-motor game in itself.
Updated
Painter's tape: 15 activities to try
Safety: Pick up tape scraps right away; balled-up tape is a choking hazard.
15 activities
- Photo Wall Hello Kisses 12–20 months · 3–6 min · Indoors · Calm Your child greets low-hung photos of family members with waves, pats and blown kisses, practicing affection and learning the names of the people they love.
- Photo Wall Flap Hunt 13–22 months · 5–10 min · Indoors · Calm Your child lifts sticky-note flaps to find family photos taped to the wall while you name each person, building understanding of familiar names.
- Taped-Down First Scribbles 14–24 months · 5–10 min · Indoors · Calm A big sheet taped to the floor or table stays put while your child grips a jumbo crayon and makes first marks, building grasp and intentional movement.
- Cheers! Open-Cup Clink 16–24 months · 3–8 min · Indoors · Calm Everyone at the table lifts an open cup, clinks gently, sips and sets it back on a taped spot, so your child practices open-cup drinking by copying.
- One Open Hole Shape Sorter 17–27 months · 5–10 min · Indoors · Calm Painter's tape covers all but one hole of a large-piece shape sorter, so your child succeeds with one shape before choosing among several.
- Big Paper Brush Painting 18–30 months · 5–15 min · Indoors · Calm Your child paints with a chunky brush on a big sheet taped to the floor, starting with one color, to explore strokes, dots and covering space.
- Throw into the Hoop 18–36 months · 5–12 min · Indoors or out · Active A hula hoop lies flat on the floor or grass and your child throws rolled socks and soft balls into it from a tape line, moving back as they succeed.
- Tape-Line Tightrope Walk 20–30 months · 3–8 min · Indoors · Calm The child walks slowly along a straight line of painter's tape on the floor, placing each foot on the line, a calm way to practice balance before a nap or bed.
- Copy My Crayon Line 24–34 months · 5–10 min · Indoors · Calm You draw one simple stroke at a time, a line down, a line across or a circle, and your child copies it, moving from scribbles toward controlled marks.
- Crayon Leaf Rubbings 24–36 months · 5–12 min · Indoors · Calm Leaves from a walk go under a sheet of paper and your child rubs over them with the side of a jumbo crayon until the veins and edges appear.
- Tape Parking Lot for Two 25–33 months · 10–15 min · Indoors · Calm Two toddlers drive and park toy cars in their own painter's-tape parking lots side by side, playing next to each other with an adult close by.
- Color Parking Lot for Cars 26–36 months · 5–10 min · Indoors · Calm Two colored sheets taped to the floor become parking lots, and your toddler parks each toy car on the sheet that matches its color.
- Tape-Road Ball Dribble 26–36 months · 5–12 min · Indoors · Active The child kicks a soft ball gently along a road made from two lines of painter's tape, practicing small controlled kicks and following the ball.
- Trace Around the Lid 26–36 months · 5–12 min · Indoors · Calm Your child holds a crayon against the edge of a big lid and runs it around to make a circle, then tries a circle without the lid after watching you.
- Toy Car Trip Story 30–36 months · 10–20 min · Indoors · Calm Lay a painter's-tape road across the floor and drive toy cars to pretend places, chatting about where each car is going and taking turns telling the trip.
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Painter's Tape at a glance
| Activities | 15 |
|---|---|
| Ages covered (corrected) | 12–36 months |
| Focus time | 3–20 minutes |
| Main domains | 4 fine motor, 3 gross motor, 2 creativity & pretend, 2 language, 2 social-emotional, 1 early concepts and 1 practical life |
| Where they happen | 14 indoors and 1 indoors or outdoors |
| Quickest start | Photo Wall Hello Kisses, 3–6 minutes |
Every activity with painter's tape
Sorted by the first month each one fits (corrected age for children born early). Quick picks: for a calm moment, Photo Wall Hello Kisses; to burn energy, Throw into the Hoop.
| Activity | Ages | Minutes | Domain | Prep |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Photo Wall Hello Kisses | 12–20 months | 3–6 | Social-emotional | 5 min |
| Photo Wall Flap Hunt | 13–22 months | 5–10 | Language | 5 min |
| Taped-Down First Scribbles | 14–24 months | 5–10 | Fine motor | 2 min |
| Cheers! Open-Cup Clink | 16–24 months | 3–8 | Practical life | 2 min |
| One Open Hole Shape Sorter | 17–27 months | 5–10 | Fine motor | 2 min |
| Big Paper Brush Painting | 18–30 months | 5–15 | Creativity & pretend | 5 min |
| Throw into the Hoop | 18–36 months | 5–12 | Gross motor | 2 min |
| Tape-Line Tightrope Walk | 20–30 months | 3–8 | Gross motor | 2 min |
| Copy My Crayon Line | 24–34 months | 5–10 | Fine motor | 2 min |
| Crayon Leaf Rubbings | 24–36 months | 5–12 | Creativity & pretend | 5 min |
| Tape Parking Lot for Two | 25–33 months | 10–15 | Social-emotional | 5 min |
| Color Parking Lot for Cars | 26–36 months | 5–10 | Early concepts | 5 min |
| Tape-Road Ball Dribble | 26–36 months | 5–12 | Gross motor | 5 min |
| Trace Around the Lid | 26–36 months | 5–12 | Fine motor | 2 min |
| Toy Car Trip Story | 30–36 months | 10–20 | Language | 5 min |
How each activity uses painter's tape
- Photo Wall Hello Kisses (showing affection, 3–6 minutes): Tape four to six family photos at your child's eye level, with every edge taped down.
- Photo Wall Flap Hunt (understanding names of things, 5–10 minutes): Tape 3-4 family photos to a wall at your child's standing height and cover each one with a large sticky note.
- Taped-Down First Scribbles (scribbling and early drawing, 5–10 minutes): Tape all four corners of a large sheet to the table or floor.
- Cheers! Open-Cup Clink (drinking from an open cup, 3–8 minutes): Stick a small tape circle on the table where your child's cup lives.
- One Open Hole Shape Sorter (shape sorting, 5–10 minutes): Cover every hole except the circle with painter's tape and keep only the matching pieces out.
- Big Paper Brush Painting (painting, 5–15 minutes): Tape the paper to the floor or a low table and put a little paint in a heavy dish.
- Throw into the Hoop (throwing a ball, 5–12 minutes): Lay the hoop flat and put a tape line one big step away from it.
- Tape-Line Tightrope Walk (balancing, 3–8 minutes): Stick a straight line of tape about 10 feet (3 m) long across the floor.
- Copy My Crayon Line (scribbling and early drawing, 5–10 minutes): Tape a large sheet to the table and sit side by side, each with a crayon.
- Crayon Leaf Rubbings (scribbling and early drawing, 5–12 minutes): Lay one leaf on the table, cover it with paper and tape the paper corners down.
- Tape Parking Lot for Two (playing alongside others, 10–15 minutes): Tape two small parking lots of three spaces each, side by side on the floor.
- Color Parking Lot for Cars (sorting, 5–10 minutes): Tape the two colored sheets to the floor a little apart, matching the colors your cars come in.
- Tape-Road Ball Dribble (kicking a ball, 5–12 minutes): Tape two parallel lines along the hallway about 2 feet (60 cm) apart to make a road.
- Trace Around the Lid (scribbling and early drawing, 5–12 minutes): Tape the paper down and hold the lid flat on it with your hand.
- Toy Car Trip Story (conversation turns, 10–20 minutes): Tape a winding road across the floor with two stops, such as a cushion shop and a box house.
By age
12–17 months: 5 activities, 3–10 minutes. 18–23 months: 3 activities, 3–15 minutes. From 24 months: 7 activities, 5–20 minutes.
Starting 12–17 months
Starting 18–23 months
Words that come up
Across these activities you will model “hello”, “kiss”, “love you”, “family names”, “who's that?”, “found you!”, “line”, “dot”, “round and round”, “more”, “cheers” and “sip”. Say one at the moment it happens, then pause for your child's turn.
Safety with painter's tape
- Pick up tape scraps right away; balled-up tape is a choking hazard.
- Test a small piece first on painted walls or delicate floors.
Prep tips
- Fold the end of each strip to make a tab for small fingers.
- Use bright colors so lines are easy to see.
- Remove tape the same day so it does not leave residue.
No painter's tape? Use instead
- Masking tape.
- Chalk lines on a hard floor outside.
- A rope or string laid on the floor (put away afterward)
Combine it with
Painter's tape is most often paired with large paper (5 activities), jumbo crayons (4 activities) and toy cars (3 activities). The skills practised most: scribbling and early drawing (5), colors and shapes (4) and imitating actions (4).
Often combined with
Skills practised
Frequently asked questions
What can a toddler do with painter's tape?
15 activities here use it, for example Photo Wall Hello Kisses (12–20 months), Photo Wall Flap Hunt (13–22 months) and Taped-Down First Scribbles (14–24 months).
Is painter's tape safe for toddlers?
Use it only with an adult close by. Pick up tape scraps right away; balled-up tape is a choking hazard. Test a small piece first on painted walls or delicate floors.
What can I use instead of painter's tape?
Masking tape, chalk lines on a hard floor outside or a rope or string laid on the floor (put away afterward) can stand in for most of these activities.
What ages are activities with painter's tape for?
They cover 12–36 months of corrected age: 5 starting 12–17 months, 3 starting 18–23 months and 7 starting from 24 months.
Related
Monitoring, not medical advice. Talk to your pediatrician about any concern. Our sources and method.