Curious on what your best suggestions are regarding how to go about getting a good chunk of various yoyos to start a club and get some kids (7th/8th) interested in it, along with getting them to help teach younger kids (2nd/3rd) through the Big Buddies/Little Buddies program at the small school that I teach at.
I figured some cheap dollar store ones to start with for the littles (6-7 year olds), followed by some responsive, and handful of unresponsive, and a select few (would be my own) monometal ones at my discretion to try once I think they can handle it.
Iāve heard some people mention that there are a handful of prominent names that are interested in this kind of thing, but am not really sure how to go about this in the easiest/best/cheapest (will most likely be me footing the bill, with a small chance of some percentage of reimbursement down the roadā¦but not guaranteed).
Any advice you have, or anyone that you could connect me with to get more yoyos in kidsā hands would be wonderful. I have a great collection of the upper end stuff Iāve acquired over the years, but not very many beginner-friendly ones anymore.
Duncan and yoyo factory have bulk buys and would be your best bet especially if you requested any budget or funding that requires special tax stipulations. I know Boy Scouts use Duncan.
Finding super cheap stuff like dollar store throws on your own dime to get things started isnāt a bad idea if thatās the route you have to go
Asking parents to chip in for kids who join the club in a bulk buy would also be a good move
I havenāt started a club at my school, but I have helped kids gain interest and start yoyoing just by yoyoing for the kids. At my last school I would yoyo every Friday at the end of class. This year I use the yoyo every class as a reward and it has helped classroom management and many kids are interested in yoyoing know. This is my first year at my school, so I want to wait until I am more established before speaking to admin about a yoyo club.
It is also possible that you could get a grant to start an afterschool yoyo club especially if you connect it to steam or social emotional learning.
The yoyo that I started out with ( and still recommend for beginners) is the Butterfly XT. It was easy for me to use when I was in elementary school, and costs $6 at Target. A lot of other kids at my school also bring Magicyoyos to recess, so those could work too.
There is a grant that I am currently researching/working on - that would be the ultimate winā¦to get a bunch of quality throws with grant money so that everyone wins.
I figured I would get something along the lines of the below, but feel free to correct/tweak this:
10-15 of the cheaper yoyos (I have found some dollar store ones that actually have some kind of transaxle that the string is looped on, rather than tied) - these would be purely for the 2nd graders to start on, with the idea of learning things like how to wind the string, finger placement, hold it, gravity pull, sleeper, forward pass, etc.
10-15 cheap responsive (Iāve seen the Whip, some Magic Yoyos, and a Duncan or two for under $10 each)/Yomega Brains , the idea is something that gets them working on their sleeper throw, and that can do enough responsive tricks to keep them working/progressing on skills while not being too difficult. The Brains are nice (what I had when I was younger) to work on knowing when to call it back. I would also use these to model stuff so that they can see itās the player, not the yoyo for all of the progression.
10-20 cheap responsive yoyos (Wedge, Krystal, Atom Smasher, - plastic, forgiving, able to work on binding and sleep for a longer point.
2-5 cheap monometals (N11, Y-03 Hertz, Recess, Snack) - something for kids to work for and get to use as a reward.
1-3 Quality monometals and/or bi-metals - Iāll bring my own collection and kids can use them at my discretion, based on ability and practice/determination.
4-8 looping yoyos - not into that as much, but want to have a few to try in case they areā¦
3 counterweight yoyo setups - not into that as much, but want to have a few to try in case they areā¦
2-3 4A - Iāll bring my own for them to try along with space and supervision from another teacher.
string up the yin-yang! I make my own, so Iāll also be showing them the process behind it, bring some fun colors, and let them try their hand at it. Every kid will get a chance to make their own to use, along with at least 3 that I will make for them (one generic white, one with school colors - white and green - and one of my own choosing, but probably Hulk-colors with green and purple, since I have so much).
Iām wondering if any company (Duncan, YYF, YYE, TopYo, AceYo, MagicYoyo, etc.) offers an educational discount to buy a bigger orderā¦
Thanks to all for the advice and suggestions so far!
Yoyoexpert may have a discount for the snapback in yoyo clubs. On the listing it says to contact them for a club discount.
These are a little more expensive than a dollar store yoyo but you may want to consider the yyfr area of effect
The performance of the yoyofriends area of effect.is very surprising.
For $17 you get both the responsive and unresponsive bearings with the yoyo. The yoyo is very powerful for a plastic (similar amount of performance for a $30-50 monometal), is comfortable to catch. It plays kind of like the speedahilic xx but with more rim weight and stability.
My theory about yo-yos is different than most folks, and I am certainly not the expert on school kids, the club I started that has actually been run in a toy store for some years only has one steady member below drinking age. But I believe it is not too important what kind of yo-yos you have, the challenge is making it seem fun. I just believe that yo-yos are frustrating enough to most kids they will not get the bug. For those that do, you can introduce better throws. I do not believe kids get frustrated because they donāt have a quality throw. If you can demonstrate what is possible and make them believe they could learn the tricks you are doing, the equipment issues will sort themselves out.
I guess I would steer clear of these. Some just donāt even work without a bit of tinkering. Theyāll loose interest real fast.
YYF WHiP is great for all ages. The string out of the box is perfect for even the youngest of players and the response system is bang on every time. They also come apart very easily. Dropping in a C bearing makes it unresponsive. Grab a bunch from Hollywood Modern Yo-yos. Ross has some great deals on bulk buys.
Any way you might be able to charge a club fee of like $5? That almost gets them a good kit and wonāt hit your wallet too hard.
Either way, my suggestion is to start with a decent yo-yo.
Good luck! Iāve been thinking about the same for a long time. Iāve already got a couple 5th graders that I meet with every now and then but definitely want to make it more official.
Iām with this theory donāt get trash on a string they canāt return to there hand or something on my unresponsive start with something they can achieve and show them the potential and the rest will get sorted.
I should have been more clear - the āgarbageā ones were only for the handful of 2nd graders to try the gravity pull and forward pass withā¦the goal was to get a few different shapes and types to have kids try it and see if thereās any interest.
I % agree that the best way to get someone hooked on this hobby is to provide something that allows them the ability to progress, so garbage is not the answer in general - I just assumed that there will be a chunk of kids who are not interested in it whatsoever, so I would try to pool resources ($) towards those that do. Iām also cognizant that if I donāt have enough for each kid to try at the same time, things could go south quickly, lol. My goal is to have at least one for each of the 27 2nd graders, with a handful leftover for my 7th graders to work on and show them between switching throws.
Unfortunately, I canāt charge anyone for this - kids at my school (out in the country) are already on free lunches, and many own small farms that are struggling to stay solvent, hence why Iām assuming Iāll be footing the bill unless I get that grant funded, or have some kind of reimbursement from school/board at a later point in time.
Definitely appreciate the suggestions - I donāt think thereās a perfect answer to this given some of the conatraints (like funding and the number of kids/throws needed). Thanks to all for the generous offers also!
Back in 2010, I started a Yo-yo/Skill Toys Club at my high school. I contacted Duncan for help off a recommendation from someone on here. While Iām not sure what theyāll respond to you, Duncan provided me a bunch of Juggling balls, footbags, and Throw Monkey yo-yos. This way we got started! I recommend having an adviser take care of the formalities cause a school email will help you look more legitimate and not some people tryna get free stuff.
Starting a club is exciting, especially for such young kids. I go to Chico Yo-yo club. From personal experience, kids wanna hurry up and get through everything. They wanna do the DNA and Godspeed, the hooks! Itās good to come up with a curriculum, and divide things into levels of beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Chico has cards where instructors can sign off everytime they master a trick. Itāll be entertaining when you they try to show you they can do Zipper and fail it, but insist they landed it 20 times in a row when you werenāt looking. Donāt be afraid to be strict so they donāt develop bad habits.
Obviously things have changed in 13 years but I hope this helps.
I cannot even imagine trying to teach all those 2nd graders at once.
You might want to go ahead and shorten some of the strings in advance, or have some extra strings that are already short.
Man you got your work cut out for you!
I used to work at Bird in Hand - I was one of the ones who helped sign off on those cards - great memories! Youāre totally right about the whole āI swear I just landed that like 10 times in a row!ā
% agree that the best way to get someone hooked on this hobby is to provide something that allows them the ability to progress, so garbage is not the answer in general - I just assumed that there will be a chunk of kids who are not interested in it whatsoever, so I would try to pool resources ($) towards those that do. Iām also cognizant that if I donāt have enough for each kid to try at the same time, things could go south quickly, lol. My goal is to have at least one for each of the 27 2nd graders, with a handful leftover for my 7th graders to work on and show them between switching throws.