When it comes to fads what is the latest and greatest? POP-ITS! Are your preschool and kindergarten students as obsessed with pop-its as mine or maybe you’re wondering what on Earth I am talking about… whether you’re fully aware of what they are or I am speaking a foreign language to you, you’re going to want to keep reading to learn all about this highly engaging learning tool and also grab a few fun and easy activities that you could use with your students as soon as tomorrow!

If you love this do check out my year round Manipulatives bundle.

What is a pop-it?

So what exactly is a pop-it? It is a silicone fidget toy that is almost like reusable bubble wrap! However, it is (almost) silent, unlike bubble wrap. You press the bubbles and it “pops” then you can press the bubbles back. It is fun, relaxing, and even a little bit addicting!

Where can you find pop-its?

Pop-its are available pretty much everywhere. Walmart, Target, Dollar Stores, Amazon, and more! To see some of my favorites, check out my Amazon Store Front, you can find a whole variety of pop its there plus many more STEM Manipulatives!

Pop the Letters Alphabet Match

Our Pop the Letters Alphabet Match activity is a fun way to practice letter recognition while also developing strong fine motor skills. This activity is perfect for preschool, kindergarten, or homeschool students. This activity requires a pop-it as well as our printable letter/alphabet task cards. Your students could also use a tweezer and a small manipulative like pom-poms. (You will need to label your pop-it with the letters in the alphabet if it does not already come with the letters printed on it.)

To begin this activity, students will need all the needed supplies listed above. This could also be set up as a literacy center activity with all the needed supplies in a literacy tub/station. Students will draw a task card and then pop the correct letters of the alphabet on the pop-it toy. Try another version where students pop the letter and then place a pom-pom onto the correct letter with a tweezer – this adds an extra fine motor component to the activity.

Pop the Numbers & Shapes

Pop the Numbers & Shapes is a math center activity that your preschool, kindergarten, and homeschool students will LOVE! This center activity provides fine motor skill practice along with number and shape recognition. You will love the colored and black-and-white versions of these pop-it center activities.

Students will need a pop-it labeled with the numbers 1-30 and various shapes and our printable number/shape task cards. Students will draw a task card and then pop the correct numbers and/or shapes. Add another layer of fine motor skills to this activity by giving students a tweezer and a variety small manipulatives.

 Pop-It: Upper and Lowercase Letters

Need a literacy center activity or perhaps you need an engaging morning tub or work bin activity for students to work on independently. Here is the perfect upper and lowercase letter practice activity for early learners (kindergarten, preschool, homeschool). So, grab your pop-it toy and our lowercase letter pop-it task cards to get started today!

This task card activity can be used in a variety of ways. Start by drawing a lowercase letter task card and popping the bubbles to create that letter then add in a little more fun when you use a small manipulative to really make the letter stand out. For the manipulatives think of pom-poms, mini erasers, pinecones or acorns, m&ms, or any other mini-items that make the letters really “POP!”

Pop-It: Numbers 1-20

This pop-it math center activity is a fun and easy way for students to learn number formation and counting while also practicing fine motor skills. Your kindergarten, preschool and homeschool students will enjoy using these (colored or black-and-white version) number task cards. Use this activity as a morning work tub, math center activity, or independent math practice activity.

To start, print the task cards and get a pop-it. Students will draw a number card (1-20) and pop the bubbles to recreate the number on the task card. Once all of the bubbles have been popped, add a small manipulative to each popped bubble and “trace” it with your finger. Your students will love popping the bubbles and creating numbers 1-20.

Pop the Shapes

Learning shapes with your students? Check out our Pop the Shapes math center activity for preschool and kindergarten students. This activity contains a variety of shape recognition practices along with fine motor practice.

Your students will need a pop-it and a printed version of our shapes pop-it cards. Students will draw a card and then recreate the shape as they pop it. The shapes included in this activity are square, rectangle, rhombus, line, parallelogram, cross, circle, star, heart, octagon, triangle, oval, crescent, hexagon, pentagon, trapezoid, and arrow.

Pop-It Bundle (Spelling Words)

Check out this amazing Pop-It bundle! Your preschool and kindergarten students will get a TON of literacy skill practice along with fine motor practice. The literacy skills included in this bundle are beginning sounds, middle sounds, ending sounds, spelling words, and CVC word cards with missing letters.

Our Pop-It activity is a simple, no-prep activity to learn key literacy skills using fine motor skills in an engaging way. These task cards can be printed and laminated for repeated use. Start by drawing a task card and popping the sounds, letters, words, or missing letters! Your students will love these fidget popper activities! It makes a perfect literacy center intervention or early finisher activity!!