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Wikki Stix®

Wikki Stix

At first, I thought Wikki Stix® was strictly an arts-and-crafts medium, and I wasn’t going to review it. However, I realized that they were also designed to be used across the curriculum for creative learning activities, and the possibilities soon became obvious to me.

Wikki Stix are made of “acrylic hand-knitting yarn and non-toxic, food-grade wax formula.” They are safe for children about age three and up.

Wikki Stix come in six, eight, or thirty-six inch lengths in many colors and are packaged in various kinds of sets. They are reusable. Bend them and they will stick to each other and to most surfaces, but they also remove easily. They will not break, but you can cut them with scissors.

Children will love creating craft project with them, making 3-D pictures and ornaments or decorating gifts or projects. You can dream up your own ideas or purchase kits or books such as the Christmas Fun Activity Book, After School Fun Kit, Create-A-Card Fun Kit, Birthday Party Kit, or the Bible Fun Kit. You might prefer the Big Count Box that includes 468 six-inch Wikki Stix in 13 colors plus a 12-page booklet with arts-and-crafts ideas.

On the academic front, you might want to try the Alphabet Fun Cards kit that comes with a pack of Wikki Stix along with a large card for each letter of the alphabet with both upper and lower case letters. Children ages four through about five or six can learn letter formation as they bend and place the Wikki Stix on the cards. Note that if you want to create a permanent set of “decorated” cards, you will need more Stix than the 36 that come in the kit. A Numbers & Counting Fun Cards kit is similar. Number cards have the numbers plus a corresponding number of objects. Children can create the numbers and the objects with Wikki Stix or only the numbers. Additional “worksheets” add more number matching and counting activities incorporating the Wikki Stix. A Basic Shapes Kit should also be great for early learners.

Older students might use them for creating maps or science models. A DNA Double Helix Kit is great for constructing DNA models. Dinosaur Fun and Oceans of Fun might add a hands-on dimension to those science topics.

The Classroom Pack might interest you. It includes 300 eight-inch Wikki Stix plus a 36-page Resource Manual. Larger kits are also available. The Economy Pack with 528 Wikki Stix plus idea sheets might be great for those who want just a few ideas to get started.

Prices are very reasonable so you can try out a small package to see how much your children enjoy working with them. Check the Wikki Stix website for prices for classroom and economy packs as well as to see the full range of products available.