I am sure your kiddos have come home with one of these fidget poppers from a birthday party or asked for one recently. They are the newest fidget toy and I actually love them as a mom and educator. Why?
- They are quiet
- They are washable
- They fairly cheap
- They have SO many uses
- Easy to clean up
I wanted to share some of the educational ways I am incorporating them, other than something for my kids to use when I am reading aloud. Which they do often and guess what? They can still recall everything I am saying. It is a mindless activity, so while you may think it is a distraction it actually does the opposite. It keeps them present and engaged.
One super simple way to implement a fidget popper into a preschool or elementary child's life: write the alphabet on it. You can then ask a child:
- To sing the alphabet while popping
- To find a letter you call out and pop it
- You say the letter sounds and they pop the correct letter
-Show them a lower (or upper) case letter and they pop the corresponding letter
- Spell a word or their name use the popper
- Give them a word and they pop the beginning, middle, or end sound
So many easy activities! You can also write uppercase on one side and lowercase letters on the other!
Maybe your child has mastered all the activities above and you need to move beyond singular letters and their sounds. Writing blends and digraphs on the popper is another great option! You can then ask a child: - Pop the blend/digraph after you say it aloud
- Pop the blend they here at the beginning of a word
- Pop what they hear in the middle of a word
- Pop their choice when spelling a new word you say aloud to them
We are Logic of English and Heggerty lovers over here and this is a great tool to incorporate with both curriculums.
Do you have a child that struggles with focusing during math or just needs a fun way to review? Whelp, you can use a fidget popper for this too!
A few fun ways to implement in math are:
- Write numbers 1 to 100 (or choose a smaller size for students not ready for a large range) and ask them to count and pop
- Skip count (see video below) by any number
- Roll a dice and add two numbers together (you can even buy blank dice and write your own, larger numbers) - see video below
- Give the child a number and then roll to subtract, using the popper as a tool
- Practice multiplication facts by calling out times tables and letting them pop the answer
- Give them a popper with numbers written as a tool to complete a math worksheet or review activity (instead of counters or calculators)
The great thing about a fidget popper is there is no mess. I love math manipulatives and counters but the pieces get spread around, stuck in mouths and noses, and are harder to disinfect.
You can find fidget poppers in most stores and on Amazon of course. Here are the round ones I bought and the large square from Amazon.
Check out the videos below for a few more examples! Happy popping!
Skip counting!
Simple addition review!