FIVE WAYS TO PLAY WITH WASHI TAPE - ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS

We love washi tape, the decorative sticky tape. It's so versatile. It can be used for games, crafts, to decorate or simply to stick postcards and prints to walls because it peels off with little to no impact on paint or paper. Washi tape is so handy to have tucked away for rainy days as you can do a whole manner of things with it to keep your little ones entertained. And at a minimal cost too, as you can pick up this colourful tape in most craft or hobby shops for just a couple of pounds. Here are five of our favourite washi tape activities for kids.

LEARN TO COUNT

This one couldn't be more simple but it's really helpful for children learning to count. Tape off ten squares or rectangles in a line, each one representing a number from one to ten which you can write on individual post-it notes placed alongside each box. Grab some marbles or small toys and ask your little one to put the correct number in each washi-taped off space. It encourages children to think beyond simply reciting numbers and to understand that they're associated with an actual or physical amount of things.

LEARN TO SORT BY COLOUR

Similar to the learning to count idea, this one requires washi tape in different colours. Again, create shapes on the floor (it will easily peel off so don't worry about any damage) with the aim of asking your child to perform challenges related to colours. For example, put all the pink toys in the pink square. Or, put all the sandwiches in the blue square, depending on what toys your child likes.

A FUN ROAD NETWORK

Until the On The Road Rug comes back in stock, why not use black tape to create a temporary road on your living room floor? You can make it as simple or as complicated as you want, with room for your child to add little buildings - perhaps a farm in the middle of a roundabout or a school with space for a bus to stop outside. You could even make your own 3D traffic signs following this easy tutorial.

LET'S PLAY HOUSE

We spotted this photo from @rosemounthouse on Instagram and fell in love with the effect. It's a home within a home and the perfect play corner for a child who adores role play games. It's such a clever idea, isn't it? Pop a play kitchen in there as Emma has done or perhaps turn it in to a coffee shop with our Star Beans Coffee Shop and a table and chairs for teddy bear customers to sit on. There are so many possibilities!

DECORATE A PLANT POT

Finally, washi tape is also great for crafting with. You can use it to add colour to notebooks, wrap around pencils or even create mini bunting. However, with more and more children getting involved in gardening and growing things since lockdown started, we though it would be nice to use it to decorate a pot. Simply take a tin that's safe for children to handle like a hot chocolate or custard powder one and paint it white all over. This is because washi tape can be quite thin so you can spot writing through it.

Once dry, wrap your chosen washi tape around it to make it lovely and colourful and then paint a layer of Mod Podge over it to seal the tape and make it wipeable. Line the inside with a plastic bag to prevent the pot from getting damp and then pop a plant or seeds inside. Display it on a shelf or perhaps your child would like to watch it grow on their desk to have something nice to look at while homeschooling.