Ages: 6.75 & 9.75
During our summer vacation, Thumper got a hold of a free Rainbow Loom and she became obsessed. It’s now infected Astroboy as well. Both spend all their free time on it.
I was very surprised to learn that while I was gone running errands, she asked my mom for her iPad and searched on Youtube herself for instructional videos on what you can make with the Rainbow Loom. (Just google “rainbow loom project-name” and you’ll see a bunch of YouTube videos). She started with bracelets and has gone on to ornamental items.
She’s really growing up and becoming independent.
Of course Astroboy wanted to do it as well but Thumper was hogging it all up. I finally caved and bought a set for him. I didn’t know until after Thumper broke hers (just a week of use no less!) that there are actually tons of imitators out there and you want the real thing which has a metal hook instead of cheap plastic ones.
This is the one we bought. It’s the “Original Rainbow Loom Value Pack“.
And because Thumper broke hers, I bought yet another Rainbow Loom this week.
So what have the kids made with their Rainbow Loom? The first pic is Astroboy‘s big birthday project, a purse twice as big as Thumper’s. The next few (and the one on top) are Thumper’s.
Astroboy doesn’t have the stamina or attention span to work on his birthday present to Baba. Though I don’t tend to participate when the kids make crafts, I volunteered to help Astroboy with him. Otherwise he will lose interest eventually. He makes half of each “row” while I do the other half.
I’m so gong ho on encouraging Astroboy (and really the point of this post) because the loom is a great way to help the child with their pencil grip. Both kids didn’t do enough crafts at home in the preschool years and don’t hold their pencil properly. Because of this, I don’t push them to write.
Tip: A great way to keep the young children’s attention while doing a longish project like the Rainbow Loom is to let them listen to audiobooks at the same time. I’ve also read somewhere that when a child’s hands are working, it helps them better process and retain information. Thumper has been listening to 哈利波特 Harry Potter in Chinese while Astroboy to 奇先生妙小姐 Mr. Men and Little Miss .
Here’s to hoping that the loom plus all the pearler beads will help him hold his pencil properly this year. That pincer grip is so important for schooling.