Do you know what a Rainbow Loom is?
About a month ago I had no idea what it was, but all of a sudden all I seem to see are colourful bands in the form of bracelets, animals, fruit, Hello Kitty, Batman, unicorns, the Smurfs, and the Incredible Hulk... I am in awe of the creations being plastered on Facebook and it seems if you can think of it, you can make it.
During her tour of New Zealand this year, the Duchess of Cambridge was seen wearing a Rainbow Loom band bracelet leading to a spike in sales in UK school. In 2013 it was named the most searched toy on Google. Rainbow Loom has been banned at some schools in US due to students being distracted in class and animosity growing in the playground. Who knew rubber bands had a purpose other than tying things together or using as a slingshot?
You may be wondering why I'm raving on about a school yard craze. Well I'll tell you.
This week is Mental Health Awareness Week (6-12 October) and the theme is KEEP LEARNING. The whole idea is that learning new things will make you more confident as well as creating a sense of achievement. Continuous learning is identified as one of the key ways we can maintain wellbeing and this can range from simple activities such as book reading and watching a documentary, to more challenging activities like mastering French, learning how to wind surf or attempting to make a croquembouche!
For more ideas on what you can do extend your learning then check out the Mental Health Foundation website: http://www.mentalhealth.org.nz/page/995-home
To mark MHAW I have challenged my colleagues to learn something new this week and then next Monday we'll have morning tea and trade stories about what we've learnt.
How can I forget... the Rainbow Loom... on the weekend I caught up with my inlaws and god-daughter and they had made a few colourful loom bracelets. They gave me one and told me how they stumbled across it when browsing through the toy shop. Instantly my creative brain perked up, they picked up on this, so they bought me a loom kit too!
My challenge this week is to master the art of making a Rainbow Loom friendship band. I'm also keen to make an elaborate animal or superhero character too. Will this be easy to learn? I'm not sure, but I'll keep you posted at the end of the week.
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