Velcro Building Sticks

Kids are awesome. They have infinite curiosity and seemingly infinite energy to match. But sometimes you're at church or at the doctor's office and all you want is for something to help them sit still for 5 minutes, preferably without screaming or collapsing into a tantrum on the floor. These velcro building sticks make a simple, inexpensive distraction that you can easily tuck into your bag and take out when things get desperate. They're also great for building motor skills and encouraging your little one's creativity. 

This craft comes together really quickly. All you need are popsicle sticks and velcro dots. You can decide how many you want to make, but you will need two pairs of velcro dots for each popsicle stick, so plan accordingly. 

To make the building sticks, simply peel off the velcro dots and attach to the ends of the popsicle sticks. Be sure to place the identical types of velcro dot on the same side of the stick so that everything matches up (i.e. two "scratchy" velcro dots on one side and two "soft" velcro dots on the opposite face of the stick). And that's it. Done! 

One way to make the sticks more fun is to use colored popsicle sticks as your base. But if you're like me and can't bring yourself to pay twice as much for the colored ones, you can also decorate the plain ones. If your child is old enough, they can even help you with this step! 

Just be sure to consider your audience when choosing a decorating method. My toddler is still likely to randomly put things in his mouth when my back is turned, so I went with non-toxic, washable markers, just in case. (Fair warning: the colors may bleed if the sticks get wet). 

And that's it! You can stack them together for storage or use them to make all sorts of fun shapes. These are a great even for little kids. My almost 2 year old loves them. (While I was writing up this post, he saw the pictures and started saying, "Sticks! Peeease!" because he wanted to play with them.) And since I like playing with them too (shh, don't tell), I'm betting they'd be a hit with the older kids as well. 

I hope that you enjoy this easy DIY toy! If you end up making some, I'd love to hear what you think! You can reach me in the comments section below or on social media.