Fidget bracelets

I got the idea for these after 2-3 incidents over the past year where children sitting on the mat listening to a story have picked up something they found on the floor and put it up their nose or in their mouth. I have a friend who wears 'Stimming Jewellery' - jewellery cleverly designed for people who stim, such as those with autism and other learning needs, and also those who need to constantly fiddle with something in order to pay attention. I know from my own experience that having something in my hand to play with does not detract my attention from listening to others, but it is quite soothing and almost obsessively sensual.

So I decided to try making something that children can fiddle with quietly while we have mat time. There are some children who struggle to sit still, while others have trouble paying attention to a story. These fidget bracelets will hopefully help to support those children who need to move or be doing something, and hopefully stop them peeling and unpeeling the velcro straps off their shoes (velcro is so noisy!) and prevent them from picking up random things off the floor and putting it up their nose.

One of our parents kindly donated lots of ribbon to our centre, so I cut lengths of ribbon and laid out a variety of large wooden rings and bits with holes in them and plastic beads. Children threaded 1-3 rings or beads on a length of ribbon and I fastened them with a reef knot. They are too big to go into noses or ears, and too big to be swallowed. Having only one or two beads means they are not going to make an irritating clicking sound, and using wide ribbon makes it easy to hold, slows the beads down and requires you to purposefully push them around the length of ribbon.

I also gathered up some beanbags and a koosh ball and placed them in a teachers basket together with the fiddle bracelets to be given out to children who have trouble paying attention at mat time. I explain to the tamariki that these bracelets are to help them concentrate and focus at mat time - if it distracts them, then it is not suitable for them. After mat time, those that have got one can return them to the basket before going to wash their hands.

For those that are wondering about how fair it is to give one child a fidget bracelet but not another... fairness is not about everyone having the same thing, but allowing everyone to be on the same playing field - in other words, giving those that need it the tools they require to be at the same level as the others. When I was completing my Bachelor of Education, I made good use of the library at the University Campus, and got out many books on teaching, even though they were not part of my required reading for the courses I was doing. I found that I just loved learning more and more, and I read voraciously on things that interested me. One book I got out on teaching children with diverse needs explained the concept of fairness as three children of different height, all asked to reach a button on the wall. The tallest can do it easily; the middle one can do it if she stands on her tiptoes; the smallest can't reach at all. Fairness is giving the small one a stepladder to stand on, so he can reach it too. At mat time, there are children who are easily able to pay attention, to sit still, and to listen. But there are also children who find it challenging. Fairness is giving them the tools they need to be able to listen too, so that they don't miss out on learning.