Magnetic Mr Potato Head (printable)

Download and Print the Mr. Potato Head

Download and Print the Mr. Potato Head Accessories

Other Ideas:

• Make your own pieces to add to the potato head.
• Write a story about him and Mrs. Potato Head.
• Mr. Potato Head Coloring Pages HERE
• Use play dough as the base to push the accessories into.
• Get silly! Put the hands on the bottom as legs and the eyes as the nose.
• Design a few potato heads and take pictures of them to make a book. Challenge your child to copy the designs in the book. This is great for visual discrimination and attention to detail.
• Turn this activity into a dice game by making a chart. Roll a 1 to add a nose, 2 to add eyes, 3 to add arms, etc.
• Play “What’s Missing?”. Design a potato head with your child. Then, have them close their eyes as you take away a piece. When they open their eyes, have them guess which piece is missing. This game develops critical thinking skills.
• Sort with the pieces – group the legs together, arms, noses, etc.
• Build a Mr. Potato head in the bath tub. Cut simple shaped pieces out of craft foam and use them in the bath tub. They float and when they are wet they stick to the side of the tub and to each other.

History of Mr. Potato Head

In 1949, George Lerner came up with the idea for Mr. Potato Head. However, the idea wasn’t the same as it is today. His original idea was that the accessories would be pushed into a regular potato or vegetable. Because it seemed like a waste of food, the idea didn’t catch on. A cereal company bought the idea and then upon hearing about it, a toy company (Hasbro) bought the rights to it. I bet they are glad they did! After premiering a television commercial, they made $1 million in the first year.

In 1964, Hasbro changed the base of the toy from a styrofoam piece or real potato to the plastic one. Parents were glad because they kept finding molding potatoes and the pins on the ends of the pieces weren’t necessarily safe for all children. This classic toy has entertained children for so many years. Of course they have had to make a few more changes along the way such as getting rid of his pipe that he could smoke. There have been different themed characters made along the way too. Older potato head toys are now reselling for hundreds of dollars or you can pass them on to your children.