This month’s Walk, Talk, Play All Star Toy of the Month is a total play classic! The Potato Head by Hasbro is a staple that we believe belongs in every playroom. In this article, we put together some of our favorite Potato Head Play Ideas that we know your kiddos will love!

Playing with this toy naturally promotes practice of tons of important developmental skills, including:

• Language skills 
• Fine Motor Skills
• Bilateral coordination
• Body awareness
• Problem solving
• Creativity

Opportunities for Practicing Language Skills

We love the Potato Head because it naturally provides opportunities to playfully practice tons of important developmental skills, including ? language skills!

As your little one brings their potato friend to life, you can increase vocabulary knowledge by modeling a variety of word types, including:

• Nouns (e.g., eyes, hat)
• Pronouns (e.g., he, they)
• Verbs (e.g., run, flew)
• Spatial concepts (e.g., top, in)
• Adjectives (e.g., strong, hungry)

WTP Insider Tip: throwing another version into the mix (like this awesome Spidey-Potato) is a great way to practice comparing/contrasting skills!

Here are video examples of language and developmental skills that playing with the Potato Head naturally encourages:

Rescue the Potato Pieces!

Rescue games are always a hit with preschoolers! For a quickie activity, wrap up Potato Head’s parts in painter’s tape and let your little peel away. 

In this activity you can focus on:

• Fine Motor skills to peel and pull
• Labeling body parts
• Discussing the body’s senses

WTP Insider Tips:

• For kiddos who are scissor safe, you can add some snipping to help their potato friend! 
• Try using foil to decrease the challenge for younger friends

Take Your Potato to the Beach!

Your Potato Head needs a beach day! The durable and chunky plastic parts are perfect for a day in the sand and water. 

• Hide, scoop, and find parts in the sand
• Make your own sand family 
• Take Potato for a relaxing float in the water

Make a Potato Sensory Bin

One of the many reasons Potato Head is an All Star Toy is because it is durable and versatile! We love adding our Potato Head to any tactile bin. 

Here’s a Flash Back Friday to the time Dr. Coco played a homemade “Operation” game, using tongs to help put Potato Head together again. 

Don’t have ⏰ to make an operation game? Your little will still get all the fun and benefits of play by tossing the pieces in your favorite filler and letting them dig and explore. We used some of our faves, Playfoam and Pfluffle by Educational Insights.

Click here for more details on this tactile bin.

Potato Head Egg Hunt

Coco and her bestie Soy had a great time searching for plastic eggs and working together to make fun creations while working on tons of developmental skills. 

Hiding objects like potato head pieces, toys, or puzzle pieces is a great way to prolong the fun and excitement of an egg hunt! 

Click here to see a super fun reel we put together for this activity!

Play “What’s Different?”

Get out your Potato Head for a super fun, no-prep way to target tons of developmental skills! 

Our friends Chloe and Davis played this “What’s Different?” game while building:

• Visual & working memory
• Fine motor skills
• Language skills
• Creativity
• Attention & focus
• Social skills 

Make a “Mystery Box”

Make a “mystery box” (a tissue box works wonders)! Your little one can practice object discrimination, exploring with their hands to search for or identify the pieces. This type of play is great for those little brains!

Potato Head Scooter Board

Adding a scooter board to play is a great way to mix it up! Put the Potato head on one side of the room and the pieces on the other. Your little can navigate the room on a scooter board. When they do this on their bellies it’s a great way to playfully strengthen back and arm muscles. o

Check out this fun reel to see this activity in action!

Here are some of our favorite Potato Heads:

Perform activities recommended by Walk, Talk, Play at your own risk with appropriate adult supervision provided. Walk, Talk, Play is not responsible for any injury caused while performing these play activities. 

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