Check out these 4 kid-approved ways to get the most out of spinners this summer.
Customize Your Spinners
Recently, my kids spent a good 45 minutes painting their first batch of fidget spinners. They are thrilled that their spinners will be customized and they totally enjoyed this project. All you have to do is pop out the gears before painting the plastic shell. We used whatever craft paint we had laying around. Spray paint and splatter paint also make for a cool effect.
Make it Educational
I absolutely love how creative teachers can be and how generous they are at sharing their ideas online. I’m totally taking advantage of these amazing resources for spinning fun! Here’s an awesome math worksheet that uses a spinner as a timer! My youngest loves this Sight Word sheet! In addition, I will be letting him try this free phonics spinner worksheet. For older kiddos, there are even STEM projects using spinners.
Build Them From Scratch
If you’ve got the time and your kids are a little older, why not try to construct your own spinners? Check out this awesome link for building them from our favorite toy: LEGOS! Also, here is an amazing DIY version!
Perform Tricks & Experiments
There are lots of tricks you can do with spinners, but here is a great video showing just a few simple, kid-friendly ones (NOTE: I’ve found that some of the YouTube videos on fidget spinners are actually not kid-friendly but this one is clean). Here are some other weird and fun tricks via Learning Express!
In case you still haven’t jumped on this crazy train, here are the places that fidget spinners might be found in the Columbia area: 5 Below, Ollie’s, Michael’s, Walgreen, Educational Wonderland, Be Beep, Learning Express and GameStop.
NOTE: Because I am a bit of a safety nerd, please remember that these are NOT for little ones. The pieces can come apart and become a choking hazard. My 5-year-old seems okay but I still don’t let him use them without supervision! You can’t be too careful, in my opinion.