Dateline Boston — I’m going to write today about Silly Bandz, that fad that hit elementary schools last year. Silly Bandz started popping up on the arms of kids between the ages of five and twelve.
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They look like rubber bands, and they come in all colors. The thing that makes them really unique is that they come in various shapes, which stretch and then go back to their original shape. They’re grouped by theme: animals, fruit, clothing, princess, sports, you name it. Kids collect the bands and wear them on their arms.
I read a few articles in the spring about schools banning them. Kids were trading them, snapping them, fighting over them. It was horrible, and the students were distracted, said teachers and staff.
Horrible? Banned? What is wrong with those teachers? Silly Bandz are such a resourceful teaching tool! They’re cheap, they’re cool, the kids have them already, and there are so many things you can do with them. If I were an elementary school teacher, here’s what I would do with Silly Bandz:
• Sort them by color, by group, by hobby.
• Make graphs. In your class, how many princess wands are there? Planets? Dogs? Which is the most popular color? Shape?
• Do fun things with them. Guess how far the Bandz will shoot across the room, then see how far they actually do. Chart it. Do certain shapes travel further than others? Why do you think so?
• Compare Silly Bandz to rubber bands? How are they the same? Different? Which goes farther if you shoot it across the room? Why?
• Glue them on things. Make sculptures with them. Count how many are on each child’s arm. Stack them on a tube.
• Do creative writing with them. Put a bunch in a paper bag. Each child picks one from the bag. The first child starts a story using the object found, and the next child continues the story. “Once upon a time, there was a…football.” (Next child picks a magic wand) “The football had magical powers…”
• If you can’t figure out what the shape of a Silly Band is, make it up. I saw one that was supposed to be a rocket, but to me it looked like the fingernail of a giant witch. Use your imagination!
• Have discussions. Why are Silly Bandz so popular? Why do kids fight over them? Why is it important to collect them? What does “popular” mean? What does “competitive” mean? Why do Silly Bandz drive adults crazy? What is a fad? Ask your parents if there were any fads that drove their parents crazy when they were kids. Talk about baseball cards, comic books, Beanie Babies, Cabbage Patch Kids.
If I were really into making money, I could publish this essay as a thematic unit and make a killing. I’m not into making money; I’m into making the world a better place. I’m a preschool teacher because I didn’t want to deal with the standards set by the elementary schools. Sometimes, though, I’d love to be an elementary school teacher. If I could start as one in September, I’d start with Silly Bandz. Anyone need a guest teacher?
Ms. Campbell may be contacted at campbellalexandra@hotmail.com
