10 Inexpensive Ideas for DIY Fidget Toys

Fidgets can be beneficial to students in your classroom. With appropriate fidgets, students can meet their sensory needs and dedicate more mental energy to their work. Whether used during a brain break or at intervals throughout the day, successful fidgets help students unwind and focus and keep distractions to a minimum. However, they can be costly. In this article, discover 10 suggestions for DIY fidget toys, and an article about the importance of giving students responsibility for their fidgets.

The Benefits of Brain Breaks

Restlessness in the classroom is a challenge for both students and teachers. This is especially true on wintry or rainy days when outdoor recess and activities are not viable options. Students’ attention can quickly wane, leaving them daydreaming at best and engaging in any number of misbehaviors at worst.

The truth is, it is a waste of time to try to teach students who have zoned out. Save yourself the trouble of having to reteach any portion of a lesson by offering your students brain breaks. Strategically scheduling two-minute brain breaks into your lessons can effectively raise student engagement.

Effective Fidgeting

Fidgeting is an attempt to regulate sensory needs. We know that sensory needs vary among children. Effective fidgeting can be a method to calm down and maintain focus. However, fidgeting can also be ineffective and even problematic, if students are attempting to regulate their sensory needs in ways that add to their distraction or distract others.

A fidget can be any small object that students can hold in their hands to fulfill their sensory needs during class. When they find the right fidget, students can meet their sensory-seeking needs and dedicate more mental energy into the learning task at hand.

Finding (or Making) the Right Fidget

Offering students fidget toys to enjoy during short breaks is a great way to let students unwind. In addition, many students with attention challenges can benefit from using fidget toys throughout the day. I have not yet met a colleague who wanted to spend the money to buy enough fidget toys for an entire class. So why not buy some materials and create homemade ones?

In general, fidget toys should be simple. They should offer some sort of repetitive motion or tactile experience. Naturally, students should enjoy playing with them. It is best to have a variety of fidget toys students can choose from that fit their tastes. Here are some ideas you might try if you decide to make your own DIY fidget toys.

Pipe Cleaners

Students were making fidget toys out of this versatile art supply long before the term “fidget toy” was even invented. Playing with a pipe cleaner can be both tactile and repetitive. I enjoy bending one into a figure eight and spinning it with my two index fingers. Brainstorm some ideas that will work well with your class.

Velcro Strips

These can be used in several ways. Get the kind with adhesive on the back. If you have a few extremely fidgety kids, stick a strip under students’ desks so they can run their fingers over the rough or soft material. This tactile experience is often calming to students who need a lot of movement or sensory input. During a brain break, students can put the strips together and pull them apart.

Stress Balls

These can be easily made at home by pouring flour into a balloon through a funnel. This type of toy has gained popularity because there are now many squishy toys available that resemble foods and video game characters.

Rubber Bands

The thing about using rubber bands as fidget toys is that you must clearly define your expectations. Otherwise, students will often flip and snap the bands. Rubber bands can be used for a number of finger exercises. For example, students can place their fingertips together and put a rubber band around them. They then move their fingertips apart and see how long they can maintain the hold. More rubber bands can be added for extra resistance. Rubber bands can also be paired with several other items, such as paper clips, to make stretchy fidget toys.

Nuts and Bolts

Place a container of nuts, bolts, and washers in a variety of sizes somewhere easily accessible to students. Students enjoy putting these together and taking them apart. You can have some sets already put together for students to grab and go, or let them make their own.

Magnet Games

I like to find round magnets with holes in the middle and put them on a bolt. (I prefer to buy them pre-drilled because magnets usually crack if you try to drill a hole yourself.) I put two magnets on a bolt and position them to repel each other. I then add another bolt to keep them in place. Students have fun pushing the magnets together and then releasing them. A magnet is another item that could be used in many ways.

Slime

Stop booing and hissing! Homemade slime is not my favorite thing either, but students of all ages love it, so it can be an effective fidget toy. You can find lots of recipes for slime and oobleck online.

Duct Tape Creations

Duct tape now comes in so many flashy colors and patterns. I have seen teachers do projects where students make wallets and flowers out of duct tape. So why not make fidget toys, too? For example, make a narrow tube out of duct tape. You must fold the tape so that all the adhesive is covered. Place a marble inside the tube and use hot glue to seal the ends. Students will enjoy squeezing the marble back and forth. Be sure to make the tube narrow enough that there is some resistance, and the marble does not simply roll around.

STEM Project

Provide students a variety of materials and let them invent and engineer their own fidget toys. Incorporate time for students to test and iterate on their creations. When they are finished, let them present their designs and demonstrate their capabilities in front of your class—or in front of other classes. Have students vote on which fidget is the best! Students may keep their finished creations or add them to your classroom DIY fidget toys collection.

You don’t need to spend a lot on fidget toys to provide students with what they need to stay calm and focused in your classroom. Meet students’ sensory needs and offer them an opportunity to build responsibility and create their own DIY fidget toys to minimize distraction in your classroom so you can all focus on the real work of learning.