I have a new favorite homeschool toy, Bop It!
Bop It! is a toy that yells at you and tells you what to do to it. It yells out instructions like “Hit it!”, “Twist it!”, and “Pull it!”
I got this toy, for a child who was struggling with auditory processing. Listening and following instructions was hit or miss for him. And I was looking for creative ways to practice his listening skills. This toy was way more interesting to the child than playing Simon Says with me, so we got it. It was not an easy toy to use at first. But after six months of use, his most recent high score is 55. That means 55 times it said what to do and he did it. In a row!
However, that isn’t even what I am loving this toy for.
I am loving the Bop It! as a super quick action break between subjects! This toy is amazing for how we can pull it out and let the kid play for a few minutes and feel like they had a real mental break. I think the key here might be that we have played with it for a few months. It isn’t new, so it isn’t stressfully challenging now. It’s just fun.
When feeling frustrated by a challenging lesson, instead of quitting completely, we play with this. My kid zones out and just does what the toy says. It creates great sensory input moving around and pulling, hitting and twisting it. His brain takes a little break and also gets fed all that wonderful sensory input. After about a 5-minute brain break, he is ready to work again.
Do you have one of these? Have you found it to work well as a break between subjects or to just get some movement into the middle of a lesson? Or do you have another favorite brain break activity? Let me know!
P.S. There are a few different versions of the Bop It! We have one called “classic”. But they make more complicated ones and even ones that are Star Wars themed. Here is a link to the one we have on Amazon.
About the Author
Laura Sowdon, OTR/L is an occupational therapist, writer, speaker, educator and creator of the Five Senses Literature Lessons homeschool curriculum. She has worked as an occupational therapist with children in public and private schools, as well as private practice. Laura has taught and managed homeschool co-ops as well as homeschooling her own three children. Laura is dedicated to the idea of educating children at a pace that aligns with brain and physical development milestones and respects neurodiversity in all its forms.
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