Wikki Stix Activities for Kids!
Wikki Stix© “Magnifying Glass”
Materials needed: Assorted Wikki Stix©; books, magazines, or poems to look through.
Use two Wikki Stix© and twist both strands together. Form a circle at the top to make a pretend magnifying glass. Let the children use the “magnifying glass” to look through books or poems to locate specific letters, the letter of the week, or any sight words that your children are working on.
Extension idea for very young children: Instead of verbally telling children what letter to find, young children may need a visual model to look for. In this case, show a letter drawn on an index card or a flashcard to the child and see if they can find and match that same letter in the book or poem.
Extension idea #2: Have the children take their “magnifying glasses” outside to see what items in nature they can find that begin with certain letters (ex. Can you find any B items for us to investigate? Birds, Balls, Bark, Birdhouse, etc.) Change the letters or have younger children try to locate different items – grass, trees, flowers, dirt, etc.
Wikki Stix© for Pre-Writing Skills
Materials needed: One Following Lines.pdf – Following Lines for each student and assorted Wikki Stix©.
Use the Wikki Stix© to outline the different dashed lines. Then use a crayon or marker to create the same line designs below the Wikki Stix©.
Wikki Stix© Number Order Bracelets
Materials needed: Index cards, assorted Wikki Stix©, hole-punch.
Prior to the doing the activity with the children, you will need to cut index cards into small squares and hole punch a circle at the top. Use 1 or 2 Wikki Stix© to create a loop bracelet through the hole-punched circle. Finally, use the Wikki Stix© or a marker to create or write numerals on the index cards.
Pass out the numbered bracelets so each child is able to wear one. Have the students work on number order by lining up in the correct order. For younger children you may want to focus on numerals 1-3 or 1-5. Older students may be able to work on ordering numbers from 1-10+.
Extension activity: Arrange students so they are lined up in the correct number order, but leave 1 or 2 numbers out of the line so they are “missing” from the group. Students wearing the “missing” numbers can try to figure out where they would fit in the number line order. You may need to provide a visual number line for students to use if they are not yet able to complete this activity on their own.
Extension activity #2: Pass out the numbered bracelets to students but only use a small group of numbers (1-5). The teacher can then call out a specific activity for each of the numbers to do. For example, “If you have the number 2, jump up and down three times.”
For more activities using Wikki Stix©, see the Wikki Stix© Thematic Unit at: The Preschool Toolbox Blog! Wikki Stix© to use with any of the activities can be purchased at the Wikki Stix© website.