TinyStepper
Toddler at a table covered in colourful paint splotches, grinning with pride

Magazine Rip and Stick

Hand your child an old magazine and a glue stick — they rip out pictures and stick them on paper to make a collage entirely their own.

Activity details

2y–4y15 minslowindoorConstruction PaperGlue StickOld Magazines

Instructions

Tiny Steps

Get ready
  • Give your child an old magazine or catalogue that they are allowed to rip up.
  • Set out a glue stick and a large piece of paper or card.
  1. Give your child an old magazine or catalogue that they are allowed to rip up.
  2. Set out a glue stick and a large piece of paper or card.
  3. Show them the ripping motion: grab, pull, tear. 'Rip! You choose the picture!'
  4. Show a quick glue-and-stick: smear glue on paper, press picture down. 'On it goes!'
  5. Step away. Let them rip, choose, and stick at their own pace.
  6. They may tear whole pages, tiny scraps, or carefully extracted pictures — all valid approaches.
  7. If they want to talk about their choices: 'You found a dog! And a big red car! What a brilliant collection!'
  8. Display the finished collage: 'You made that all by yourself — from ripping to sticking. Amazing.'

Parent tip

Set out construction paper and glue stick before inviting your toddler in so the first minute feels smooth.

Proud child holding up a painted sheet covered in bright handprints and splatters

What success looks like

Messy hands and a child who doesn’t want to stop. The artwork doesn’t need to look like anything — the process is the point.

Give your child an old magazine they can destroy, a glue stick, and a piece of paper. They rip pages, tear out pictures that interest them, and glue them down however they choose. The tearing action builds hand strength, the choosing builds decision-making, and the sticking builds spatial awareness. It is genuinely independent, genuinely creative, and requires nothing from you except the initial handover.

Why it helps

Tearing paper develops the bilateral hand coordination and pincer grip that are precursors to cutting with scissors — a key EYFS Physical Development milestone. The choice element (selecting pictures) builds decision-making and personal expression, while the composition (arranging on paper) develops spatial reasoning. Research from early years art education shows that collage-making supports visual literacy — the ability to 'read' and interpret images — which transfers to reading comprehension in later years.

Variations

  • Give a theme: 'Can you find and stick all the food pictures? All the animals? All the things that are blue?'
  • Use two magazines and create a 'this or that' collage — things I like on one side, things I do not like on the other.
  • For older toddlers, provide child-safe scissors alongside tearing — cutting from magazines is a great scissor skills progression.

Safety tips

  • Check the magazine for inappropriate content before handing it over — food magazines, nature magazines, and children's catalogues are safest.
  • Glue sticks are non-toxic but check the label — some children will eat them. Redirect if this happens.
  • Magazine pages can have sharp edges when torn — paper cuts are possible, so have a plaster nearby.