Dot-to-Dot: Party Hat
Toddler · 2–3A party hat in 28 dots: a tall cone with a pompom on top. It is the quickest page here, which is exactly right for a first picture dot-to-dot — a child who finishes one wants another, and a child who abandons one rarely comes back to the pile. Free to print on A4 or US Letter, for ages three to six.
The warm-up page
A tall cone and a pompom — the quickest outline here. If you are printing several of these, put this one on top. A child who finishes a page wants the next one; a child who abandons a page rarely returns to the pile, and that order decides which happens.
Same count, less work
It still runs to twenty-eight, so finishing it tells a child the other pages are within reach rather than teaching them that this one was the easy one.
Frequently asked questions
- Why does every page go up to 28?
- So there is no easy page and no hard page to sort first. A child who can count to twenty-eight can do the party hat and every other picture in the set.
- Why are these all objects rather than animals?
- Because joining dots gives you an outline, and an animal's outline is a lump — what makes an owl an owl is its face, which sits inside the shape. A key, a crown or a stocking is recognisable from its edge alone.