Parent tip
Set out picture books before inviting your toddler in so the first minute feels smooth.
Sticky Note Lift-the-Flap
Cover pictures in a book with sticky notes and let your toddler 'discover' them by lifting the flaps.
Activity details
Instructions
- Choose a favourite picture book with clear, bold illustrations
- Cover 4-6 pictures with sticky notes — not every picture, just enough for surprise
- Sit together and open to the first page with a hidden picture
- Point to the sticky note: 'What’s hiding under here? Shall we look?'
- Let your toddler peel back the sticky note to reveal the picture
- Name the picture together with enthusiasm: 'It’s a cat! Miaow!'
- Continue through the book, building anticipation at each flap
- On the second read, ask: 'Do you remember what’s hiding under this one?'
What success looks like
A few quiet minutes together without pressure. If your child relaxes even slightly, that’s self-regulation building.
Take a favourite picture book and cover some of the illustrations with sticky notes. Your toddler lifts each flap to reveal the hidden picture underneath, and you name it together. This simple hack transforms any book into a lift-the-flap book, and the peek-a-boo element keeps even the youngest toddlers engaged far longer than a standard read-through. The act of lifting, looking, and naming builds the core pre-reading behaviours of page interaction and picture-word association.
Why it helps
The National Literacy Trust notes that recognising print in the environment is one of the earliest stages of reading development, building the understanding that marks carry meaning. Lift-the-flap interaction builds print awareness and book-handling skills — two of the earliest markers of emergent literacy. The surprise-and-reveal format leverages the peek-a-boo schema that young toddlers are neurologically primed to enjoy, sustaining engagement with books far beyond their typical attention span. The naming interaction at each reveal strengthens vocabulary acquisition through joint attention — the shared focus between carer and child that is critical for language development.
Variations
- Write the first letter of the hidden picture on the sticky note for an early phonics challenge: 'C is hiding... what starts with C?'
- Use different coloured sticky notes and ask: 'Lift the yellow one first!'
- Let your toddler place the sticky notes themselves for the next read-through — choosing what to hide.
Safety tips
- Use standard sticky notes that peel off easily — avoid any adhesive that could tear book pages.
- Watch that your toddler doesn’t eat the sticky notes, especially younger children who mouth everything.
- Choose board books for under-18-month-olds so pages can’t be ripped.
Get weekly activity ideas for your toddler
One email a week with practical toddler activities, behaviour tips, and developmental insights. No spam, unsubscribe any time.