The weather is getting colder, especially in the northeast. That means people will need to find more things to do indoors to occupy their time, not only due to weather, but also COVID. There is only so much Netflix and Hulu you can watch before you get incredibly bored. The same goes for children.
There are plenty of things families can do together indoors to occupy their time. Some examples would be arts and crafts, baking/cooking together, reading stories together, and board games. Another popular activity is puzzles.
I loved doing puzzles as a kid. In fact, I still have the wooden puzzles I played with as a child. I believe most of them still have all their pieces too. An example of one that I have from my childhood is seen at the top of this post.
To be honest, I haven’t done puzzles since my children were little. I just haven’t had the time.
I work with children (K-5th grade). My “work kids” enjoy doing puzzles. We have several of them at work, but the ones we have have 50-100 pieces. Most of the time the kids lose interest before they complete it. Either that or I find that many puzzles are missing pieces and have to be tossed out.
If you are a fan of doing puzzles, or you are interested in a fun indoor activity to do as a family, let me introduce you to the brand StickTogether.
PHOTO SOURCE: StickTogether’s Facebook Page
StickTogether is a hands-on activity that is a mash up of puzzles and paint by number where the person completing it uses a coded poster board and a color key code that tells them where each sticker goes on the board. Once all of the stickers have been placed on the board, a pixelated image forms.
StickTogether is actually a large poster. There are several images to choose from, from works of art, to animals, and from hot air balloons to seasonal designs. The posters are also available in different sizes.
I was sent the brand’s tiger kit to do with the kids I work with. I figured it was a great indoor activity they could do, and also a quiet activity kids could do while other classmates were still working online with their remote learning. I rather the kids work on something like a StickTogether poster than run around the gym making a lot of noise and being disruptive.
The poster doesn’t look like much when you first take it out of the package. It’s blank with a lot of little squares on it that are labeled. There is a key that matches the label with a specific color.
Also included in the kit are a lot of small, colorful square stickers. These are what you are going to use in order to create your design.
Similar to a paint by number set, you need to match the colored sticker with the square on the poster. It’s that easy, and anyone can do it, both young and old alike.
The poster doesn’t look like much at first, but the more you work at it, the more you’ll see the image develop right before your eyes.
Sadly, our StickTogether poster is at work, and it’s far from completed. Between a “holiday pause” and not being closed for two weeks due to COVID (my co-worker tested positive, so the whole site is shut down). The quarantine period runs into Christmas, so we won’t get back to work until January 4, 2021. I’m not able to take any photos until then. In hindsight, I should have taken photos right away. I wanted to take photos when you can make out the image of the tiger. Right now it’s just random stickers placed here and there. It didn’t look like a tiger at all (as of yet).
My “work kids” range in age from five to eleven. All of the kids are able to do the StickTogether puzzles, but the little ones do need a bit of help. If you don’t watch them they will just randomly place stickers where ever they see fit. The older kids understand how StickTogether works, so they make sure to place their colored stickers where they belong, and they are anxious to see the completed work of art.
I wish that the StickTogether stickers were reusable. I would love to do this every year with my “work kids” seeing as how I get a lot of new kids each year. Thankfully StickTogether puzzles are affordable. I can easily pick up a new one year after year.
If you are interested in learning more about StickTogether puzzles, or to make a purchase, visit LetStickTogether.com. The brand can also be found on social media. All of those links are found on the bottom right of their website.
What do you think about StickTogether? Does it sound like something your family would enjoy doing together?
Kimberly
*I received a free product sample to review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.
