An obvious benefit is the fine motor skills that students use when tying the intricate knots. Students practice positioning their fingers, and being aware of their fingers while they manipulate the strings. To make this easier for younger learners whose fine motor skills are still developing, thicker string or yarn can be used.  

As with many art projects, colour is an important part of creating the friendship bracelets. Using thread as a medium, students can start to learn about colour theory and how different colours work with each other.

In an EFL classroom a lesson on friendship bracelets, verbs such as “tie,” “knot,” “pull,” “cross,” “create,” and others can be taught. Students can also practice reading and listening to simple sentences.

The history of friendship bracelets and knot crafts can be taught alongside students creating a friendship bracelet. Here, students can begin to learn about cultures that might be different from their own and how art is represented in different ways.

Finally, this activity lends itself to students cooperating with each other. Some students might catch on faster than others and strategic table grouping would encourage the students to help each other out. Further, as we discovered in our PED 3114 class, this can be a low energy exercise and the repetitive motions inspire a sense of calm. Tying knots, even those that don’t make an aesthetically pleasing bracelet, can be an activity done with those students who need to focus their excessive energy somewhere.