While I can not begin to explain why rubber toys that pop in and out are so very cool, they are! So why not take something that kids seem to love and incorporate them into your learning day. After all, they’re also known to reduce stress and encourage focus… that’s a win!
Supplies:
- Pop-it with a decent amount of pops… we use a 10×10, 100 pops
- Learning material
- Math Worksheet
- Grade level book to read
- Spelling list
- Science or History flashcards
The idea here is that once all of the pops are popped the student will earn a reward. Very easy. We do this for many subjects so I’ll take a moment to provide details below.
When it comes to mathematics, as shown in the photo above, it is very simple. For new learners with the shortest attention spans, I let the learner pop the answer. If answering two plus four (2+4) then the learner gets to pop six (6) pops, after writing the answer on their worksheet. For the more advanced learner, just pop one pop per question answered correctly until all pops are inverted.
Following the advanced learner method into other subjects, you can pop for each page read, each word spelled correctly, or each flashcard answered successfully. There will be friendly, individual competition for the independent learners, and a sense of friendly competition for the grouped learners… you know those families with more than one kid.
About those rewards. Think of things that are also gamified learning. Have a reward box and throw in a few index cards reading “Twenty minutes of ABC Mouse”. Likewise, grab puzzles from a local dollar store to contribute to the stash. Customize the gifts to what your student(s) will enjoy, but think about things that will foster additional learning.
Drop a comment below and let me know what you’re putting in your reward box or how you’ve used a pop-it!
As always, please make learning fun!
-Brit