Easy DIY Magnetic Spinner

May 1, 2012 by

Magnetic spinner supplies

Do your students have trouble using spinners? I see lots of great games out there using spinners but I usually just pass them by in favor of my old standby- the pocket die. Spinners can be challenging if they are introduced too soon. Using a spinner requires more fine motor strength and dexterity than most young children are ready for at four years of age. At some point in the year though, when they are ready, I like to introduce spinners.

To reduce frustration and increase the ease of spinning I decided to use some materials I had on hand to create my own spinner. The materials I used are pictured at the top and I have also listed them for you below.

Materials:

  • One stove burner cover {dollar store}
  • A tube of my favorite glue- E6000 {any craft store or Wal-Mart}
  • One magnet dot {any craft store}
  • Spinner

Before you ask me where I got the spinner I have a confession to make, I ripped apart an old game that I had in the closet and used the spinner. The spinner was too close to the surface of the game board and it made playing the game very frustrating for children so I decided to re-purpose the spinner.

This is so easy it requires very little explanation. First, I attached the magnet dot to the back of the spinner using E6000 glue. Next, I used the beginning sounds wheel from my Jack in the Beanstalk literacy packet and placed it in the center of the stove burner cover. The magnet on the back of the spinner secures the game board to the burner cover and also raises the spinner high enough off the board to make spinning easier.

easy diy magnetic spinner

You can use this easy DIY spinner for any literacy or math center activity. My stove burner cover was a little big but I like how it provides a very clear boundary for the spinner. The burner cover is also very portable so students can pass it around if needed.

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About Vanessa Levin

Creator, Writer, Publisher & Editor at Pre-K Pages
Vanessa has more than two decades of teaching experience and enjoys providing professional development sessions to teachers across North America. Pre-K Pages is a popular website for preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten teachers that offers many printable resources and hands-on activities to use in the classroom. Vanessa's book, A Fabulous First Year and Beyond: A Practical Guide for Pre-K and Kindergarten Teachers is available at Amazon in paperback or Kindle.

Comments

  1. Brenda says:
    May 1, 2012 at 5:52 pm

    I love this. Very clever and you can change the picture psrt so easily. Thank you.

    • V. Levin says:
      May 1, 2012 at 6:27 pm

      Hi Brenda, I’m so glad you found this idea useful, thanks for stopping by to let me know :)

  2. Scott says:
    May 1, 2012 at 7:21 pm

    Great idea Vanessa. We’ve made a lazy Susan spinner but I like this idea, too.

  3. Heidi Butkus says:
    May 2, 2012 at 7:12 pm

    That looks like a really great idea for making a spinner that is raised up a little bit! I like it!
    Heidi Butkus
    http://.heidisongs.blogspot.com

    • V. Levin says:
      May 7, 2012 at 5:49 pm

      Thanks Heidi! Do your kids have problems with spinners too or is it just me?

  4. Karen @ PreKinders says:
    May 3, 2012 at 6:23 pm

    You’re so inventive – neat idea! Thanks for sharing.

  5. Deborah says:
    May 7, 2012 at 2:11 pm

    So many great uses for this! Awesome:)

  6. Heidi Butkus says:
    May 7, 2012 at 8:18 pm

    When we play with spinners as a group, we always use a big wooden spinner from ReallyGoodStuff.com that looks like a roulette wheel! So they have no trouble spinning that one! All they do is push it!
    But yes, when they need individual spinners, they do have a bit of trouble spinning them. It’s probably a bigger problem in PK than in K, I bet!
    Heidi
    http://heidisongs.blogspot.com