Silly Bandz Activities

I have had a surprising number of searches to this blog for Silly Bandz educational activities. Searching the net did not yield a remarkable number of choices so I decided to write a blog that would provide people with a few ideas of how to substitute Silly Bandz for other manipulatives traditionally used in classroom environments.

Sorting:

Silly Bandz can be used as a substitute for other manipulatives, especially those used for sorting activities. Activities designed to teach children about sorting by attributes that have traditionally used pattern blocks or other manipulatives could use Silly Bandz. Students can sort by color, shape, size, theme, etc. While teachers and parents may initially suggest methods to sort the items, students should be encouraged to create their own sorting methods and explain them. Teachers and parents can mix sets and require them to find ways to sort the sets that combine multiple sets. This would not allow children to separate the animal set from the car set for instance. They would need to find a rule that would sort both sets under a new rule, size, color, or some other choice that would include animals and cars in the sort.

Counting:

While there are better manipulatives for counting, never discount engaging children's interest. Children enjoy Silly Bandz so using them as manipulative counters can be a means of engaging kids in math problems. This is less practical for more advanced problems, but it is a good way to get children engaged in early math in the same way some people use stickers and other picture clues.


Graphing:

Graphing can be a simple lesson with younger children or a more complicated marketing related activity with older children. Many teachers teach graphing to kids by posing a question, having children answer the question and then having the kids graph the results using a variety of methods. Posing questions about the Silly Bandz provides a variety of options. This can also work with older students by including questions that are more complicated. The students can not only create the questions, but also generate a broader group to answer the questions and present their results in proper graphing formats.

Economics:

Silly Bandz is another marketing fad. However, students in the elementary and upper grades can learn about economics from studying fads. Students can learn how they were introduced to the product, what makes some of the items more attractive than others. There are all kinds of lessons to be learned from their own buying, trading, and marketing choices. It is a great introduction to consumer and capitalistic principles. Teachers and parents who are concerned about students trading their own items can develop a classroom supply that like other manipulatives is used for lesson purposes and does not become personal property after each lesson.

Picture Credit: MG Shelton Flickr.com

Silly Bandz Being Banned in Public Schools

I tried finding a free photo of the Bandz but resorted to an Amazon picture when I could not find one.

As a freelance writer I have seen several requests for stories about the Bandz products. I have not yet seen the craze emerge among my relatives and friends' children so perhaps we have just escaped this particular marketing frenzy. I never took the assignments because I just could not imagine what to write 400+ words about these items. As with most crazes they found a niche that appealed to children and it took off.

The problem is not the item in schools. The behaviors that result from them are the issue. The bracelets used as intended are harmless. However, they can become a huge problem when they become a marketable item in school. We have found this with trading cards and other toys over the years. Children like the interaction with friends, but like all capitalistic systems, trading is not regulated to guarantee fairness. Children can be cheated or just have regrets after trading away a favorite band. This creates discipline problems. Parents often expect schools to regulate these markets. Teachers and schools are not designed to be a toy stock market exchange.

If you have ever watched these situations get ugly among parents you can sympathize with administrators and teachers who move to shut down the free market trading in classrooms. This is not what children are sent to school to do or what teachers and administrators are paid to do by taxpayers.

The distractions that arise as children play with these toys, taunt each other with new acquisitions, and then expect teachers and administrators to protect property rights just makes an already challenging job, more difficult. It is just easier to leave the toys at home and have kids trade under parental supervision. Leave the parents to determine what kind of market they want their children to participate in and how to handle it when deals go bad. There is no way administrators and teachers are going to make a plan that will keep parents from complaining their children are not being exploited by other kids.

The best choice would be not be to ban the items, but for parents to support the law of natural consequences. Students who fool around with Silly Bandz in school can no longer wear them in school. Those who are responsible and do not create problems by playing with them during class get to wear them. Unfortunately, our society has deemed this policy discriminatory. I would also support the law of natural consequences for trading. The school does not support trading of Silly Bandz in school. Any child that gets involved with trading of Bandz will not be punished, but will suffer the consequences of trades that go bad. Any behaviors resulting from bad trades will not be justified because a student was cheated. Students were warned that trading could result in cheating. Now they have to learn to handle the consequences. This is an early lesson in buyer beware. I would also be clear that these things can be stolen when students do not secure them and teachers are not going to be responsible for property that is lost. If students risk their Silly Bandz by bringing them to school, the parents willingly took that risk by allowing the behavior. While the school does not condone or support stealing, they are not going to spend hours investigating Silly Bandz thefts either.

If parents still want to allow children to wear the Silly Bandz to school under those conditions, then it would be their choice. The students would learn about risk, reward, and consequences of their actions and choices. Bans do little to teach children, they just contain a problem to allow teachers to continue forward when parents do not want to deal with the consequences of children's actions.

There are more important things you want your teachers to be focused on then Bandz trading regulations.