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Loom Band Literacy

loom band literacy

Have your kids joined the loom band craze yet? My kids had to wait until 2014 to get their looms and bands, so we were a little late joining this trend, but seven-year-old Emma, six-year-old Johnny, and four-year-old Lily all enjoy making loom band bracelets! We also recently found another use or our loom boards: loom band literacy exercises! Form the bands on the loom to create different words – can you spot Emma’s name above? If you have more than one loom, you can spell out even long words! It’s a fun way to play with letter recognition, and to work on spelling words (if your school has spelling tests – our current school does not). I love seeing my kids find creative ways to play with letters – they also enjoy writing with cuisenaire rods, writing letters in our no-mess finger paint, writing name poems, and even making up their own literacy games! I also have a great collection of literacy activities on Pinterest!

Band looms are essentially geo boards, although the spacing is a little different from what you would typically find. so you can use them to explore geometric shapes, and to make designs for fun – designs that may even turn out to be new bracelet designs! Making band bracelets is wonderful way for kids to explore patterns and learn about sequencing, while developing spatial awareness – all important skills that they will use in math class at school.

Have your kids found creative uses for band looms? Do you have a favorite brand? We own a couple of different knock-off brands, and aren’t in love with either of them, although we prefer the one pictured about (that I don’t even know the brand of). We haven’t explored complex bracelet patterns much yet, either, so if you have one that you think my kids would enjoy let me know!

What are your favorite literacy activities?

MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.

17 thoughts on “Loom Band Literacy”

  1. What a great idea to use these loom geo boards for literacy! I never would have thought of that and we have four or five of them floating around (plus those elastics get everywhere!!! Do you have the same problem?!)

  2. Natalie AfterschoolForSmartyPants

    Wow, it surprised me that several commenters didn’t hear about rainbow looms :) Smarty loves hers, and her favorite bracelet to make is a fishtail – she learned it from the Rainbow Loom YouTube channel. She tried some other designs, including her own, but no luck so far. It’s interesting that your school doesn’t have spelling tests – ours most certainly does :)

  3. jeannine: waddleeahchaa

    I have to admit that I’ve avoided the band loom. The kiddos have so many art supplies I didn’t want to add one more thing to our growing collection. Having said that my little niece makes some amazing bracelets! I’ve been really impressed. Now she is making bracelets for me to take to our kids in Cambodia. I can’t wait to share them.

  4. What a great idea!! We don’t have a band loom but my nieces are very into these – maybe on our next trip to the States!

  5. Wow I must be living under a rock because I have never heard of this! The closest rubber band trend I’ve seen is the “friendship bracelet” one that my nieces are all into. I think any activity to encourage letter recognition is pretty cool.

    1. This is the loom that kids use to make those bracelets, and that’s how my kids usually use it. This was just a fun alternate use that we discovered!

  6. Emma @ P is for Preschooler

    I love the idea of using the rainbow loom as a geoboard. We made our own makeshift geoboard with a corkboard and pins but this would be more permanent – and rainbow elastics! :)

  7. You say you’re late to the trend, but I didn’t even know about it! LOL! :) How do the bands turn into bracelets? My kids enjoy our geo boards, though I don’t get them out unless we’re having a math lesson.

    1. It’s kind of similar to the potholder looms that were so popular when we were kids – basically you are crocheting (or something like crocheting) on a loom. There are lots of different designs you can make, although so far my kids have stuck to basic ones.

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