Kid Crafts - Perler Beads!
There are tons of reasons to fill your house with crafts. Maybe it’s cold and wet outside. Maybe your kid is sick or has an injury. Maybe you just want them to have something to do that isn’t playing video games or watching TV!
SO you go to Michael’s Craft Store. You are all immediately overwhelmed with choice.
Do we want to make our own slime? Do we want to try out friendship bracelets? Are the kids too old for the science experiments, too young for the yarn projects?
Are these just going to end up as tiny, sticky bits of trash all over my living room?
These are all fair questions. Craft projects can be their own sources of anxiety! (Read our blog post all about Messy Science with Kids HERE) It is also hard to know exactly where to start. ESPECIALLY with something like
PERLER BEADS.
Perler beads are colorful beads with holes through them that are used to make mosaic style art pieces. You use flat pegboards of various sizes and styles depending on what you are planning on making. Once the design is made, you place a piece of wax paper over it and carefully iron it on medium heat until the beads have melted into each other firmly. I suggest also ironing the other side once you have removed the design from the pegboard, but it is not required.
Some Cons:
>You really have to do an entire project in one sitting. Leaving perler beads half done on a pegboard is not like leaving an unfinished puzzle. The slightest rumble can send them scattering which can be really frustrating.
> This isn’t really a con! It’s just something you need to know. Even at ages 5 and 7, this is not something my kids can do without supervision. It is definitely a family activity that you actively participate in. Once they learn to follow a pattern and how to fix mistakes, you can all work on your own designs together! But they will still need your help with the iron for a long time.
> The ironing is tricky: The beads can come up if you press too hard on one part. If the design gets messed up in this process it is really hard to “fix” it. Most of the time you just have to start over. Once you figure out how much heat, pressure, and time your designs need this can become a lot easier.
> The beads get everywhere. It’s just a fact. We have been pretty good about cleaning up, and this is a good lesson for your kids to be responsible with their crafts and big clean-up helpers, but colors get mixed, boxes get knocked over. I suggest doing it on the floor if you can.
Our Verdict: This Craft Medium is Fun, Clever, Thoughtful, Versatile, Timeless.
They are incredibly versatile in what you can make and you can buy as much or as little of them as you want. They are not sticky and do not go bad! If you are a beginner, there are templates for designs as simple as stars, hearts, and generic animals, or as complex as highly detailed portraits and star ships! There are perler sets for nearly any fandom your kid (or you!) participates in, including Mario Bros., Star Wars, and Minecraft!
Once we tried out a kit and decided this was really fun, we began making our own designs! My daughter decided to try out making a unicorn, and my son made his own little heart shape. You can also find plenty of designs for anything you like on artistic sites like Pinterest, where we found all of these! Once you get a feel for them, it becomes fairly simple to create your own designs.
You aren’t just making more plastic toys to clutter your house. I mean, in a sense you are, but they are so much more than that. They are something that you created together. So many toys right now are made to engage the “unboxing” excitement in kids. It’s all about the initial thrill of GETTING the toy or collectible, then it’s immediately old news.
On a sick day from school, my son and I made his favorite characters. They are a staple in the household right now. They are waterproof so they even go in the bathtub! They eat at dinner with us, we talk for them, they get a movie pick in our movie night rotation. They mean so much to us, and I think it is in no small part because we worked together to create them.
The more creative you get, the more you can do!
We have made necklace charms for my daughter’s friends. We have made Valentines to mail to friends far away. You can make key chains, name tags, picture frames, 3D figures, flower pots (with perler flowers!).
The Crafts Can Be Used In Active Games: We made an entire afternoon’s fun in the form of a Minecraft Item Scavenger Hunt! The kids had to follow clues, do mini games, and complete an obstacle course to get their proper Minecraft tools and weapons. At the end, even the PRIZE they earned for solving all the riddles was an egg made from Perler beads! It took a lot of planning and crafting, but I got to do something special with the kids and it didn’t cost anything more than the craft pieces I already had.
Have you tried these yet? If so, let us know what you’ve made in the comments!
Team Spotlight: Infant and Toddler teachers make our days bright!
As we all know, LEARNING BEGINS AT BIRTH.
Our Bubble Buddies, Little Penguins, and Playful Pandas Teachers are incredible about offering what all babies need: Undivided attention, opportunities for curiosity, full-body play, and daily outside time.
We all know that children function better in countless ways if they get to be outside for multiple hours each day. The little ones, especially the LITTLE little ones that are not ambulatory, sometimes make this tricky…
So what do your fabulous infant and toddler teachers do? They lay out blankets and let them stare up at the sky while getting leg stretches. They go on lovely nature walks where they narrate the new and interesting surroundings. The teachers talk about leaves and bird calls while the kids stare in wide-eyed wonder and peace. They let them play with age appropriate toys, practice their walking skills, or sometimes just read them a book in the bright sunshine! It is such a joy to see them go on their mini-adventures.
How do we do this all year, rain or shine, cold or hot weather? Take a peek at our EXTRA DAILY SUPPLIES for all seasons! We recommend you make sure your children are prepared for any weather at all times. We are outside as much as possible to protect against the Covid-19 pandemic, but also because kids just learn better after running around breathing fresh air.
THANK YOU, INFANT AND TODDLER TEACHERS!! You are all shining stars, and our babies are so lucky to have you.
GIVE TIME: Making a Mess! I mean... Experiments.
SCIENCE IS FUN!!
BUT…
It can be exhausting and overwhelming to turn our kitchen into a science lab.
We found ourselves one Sunday afternoon with crunched leaves in the couch, slime clinging like cement to the outdoor furniture, jugs of different juices with candies and half-melted cheetos floating in them. We had spent all Saturday cleaning, and it felt like we were living in a giant sand garden where the slightest breeze would blow something sticky all over everything… I saw my kids about to turn on the hose for their water table, opened my mouth to yell “NO MORE SCIENCE,” and then listened to what I was about to say to them.
I am not saying you should let your house just be totally dedicated to the whims of a toddler. What I am saying is that curiosity is the KEY to learning.
THIS SOUNDS LIKE A LOT OF PRESSURE.
If you watch Emily’s Wonder Lab or watched The Magic School Bus, you think that every experiment has to be organized, clever, and steeped in some fantastic, curriculum-based scientific concept.
Science is not neat. Science is messy. It also does not have to be complicated.
We have a Scientific Method Worksheet free to download IF YOU WANT. It’s not necessary, but it can be nice to keep track of all the journeys of discover you go on. Free Download Here.
What if your three year old wants to know what’s inside an acorn?
1. Ask them what they think. This is a HUGE part of it, because you want them to start trying to figure things out.
2. Gather the materials! (AND YES THEY CAN BE DANGEROUS!) for this one, you just need a hammer and something to protect your floor if you’re inside.
3. SMASH IT! Let them help. It is important that kiddos learn how to use tools safely, or else they will use them NOT safely.
4. Poke at it! Look at the pieces! What is it? This can be the end of the experiment. If they want to know more about the stuff inside, you can look it up, but keep it simple, keep it steeped in wonder.
WHAT ABOUT THE MESS.
Friends, I hear you. My son is a big water-pourer. All the time. He gets in the sink and runs the tap. He sprays the hose into jugs of all sizes. He is constantly stealing people’s drinks and pouring them into other people’s drinks. We keep towels poised in the pantry for when he inevitably spills a cup of water onto the floor, the table, the dog.
This. Is. Science. He is developing spatial awareness. He is figuring out which containers hold the most and the least. He is studying how water works. He is using all of his senses to experience water. “This water’s hotter! This water has air bubbles! This water is wet! (okay, all water is wet, kid…)” He is excited, curious, and into it.
I ended up making a path of towels with different buckets of all sizes up and down the towel line. Before he poured, I’d ask him what he thought would happen, and supply during “observations” time what happened.
"Uh oh! There was too much water for the red cup. Is there too much water for the blue bucket?” “Uh oh! When you put sand in the cup, it becomes too full for the water! Why do you think the sand sank to the bottom?”
As they get older (my five year old is really into science experiments now) you can get into the more complicated messes. “Why is this slime so sticky? What happens if I add baking soda to it? Why shouldn’t I wash it down the sink?”
This was a winding road. Let’s do a quick wrap up, a conclusion, if you will.
These messy science experiments have a lot to offer your kids. They help them study the world around them in a safe environment where they have relative autonomy. They show your children the rewards of being bored and making their own fun. They show your children (and you!) that it’s okay to take chances, make mistakes, and get a little messy… as long as they are willing to clean up after themselves.
Once they realize there is time allowed for “SCIENCE TIME,” it is much easier to enforce the concept of “NOT-SCIENCE TIME.” That helps guide the fun and limit the mess. The worksheet above lets them write down any questions they have that can be answered during “SCIENCE TIME” so you don’t have to be constantly on the look out for eggs hiding in the bathtub… (that was a weird one.)
So get out there, science teams! Make the wonderful messes and maybe answer your own questions!! If you need a list of fantastic easy science experiments, check it out HERE!
Love you all, you whacky scientists,
Ms. LJ
Life, Unplugged: The Night Sky
Common Ground Friends…
It is COLDER. DARKER. GRAYER.
We know coming home after the sun sets can really sap everyone’s energy. At 6:30 PM you still have to do dinner, night time rituals, morning preparation, and there’s always dishes… It’s hard to avoid handing out tablets or throwing on The Magic School Bus. Crafts and games can be amazing, and we will be posting on this blog on those another time, but this particular blog is about the magic and majesty of simply…
Looking up.
You can enchant your child with their night sky any time of year. You can do it with or without a telescope.
Help them track the phases of the moon with this amazing (and free!) MOON CHART.
Introduce them to constellations with this super cool (and free!) set of Constellations worksheets (Found HERE)
Use this (free!) App to explore your night sky! (of course, then it’s not COMPLETELY screen free, make sure they’re looking up instead of at the phone or tablet)
Teach them The Moon Phase Game by Ms. LJ! (if you watch it beforehand, you can play with no screens!)
Listen to Gustav Holst’s Planets Suite while you fill out your moon chart.
Is your kid developing a passion for astronomy? Purchase a kid-friendly telescope!* For less than 100 bucks you can offer years of incredible family experiences and create new traditions.
From today until the new year, there are so many glorious events happening right above you. Here are only our favorite three, you can find the full list here. (There are three other meteor showers between now and January 1)
November 11, 12 - Northern Taurids Meteor Shower. The Northern Taurids is a long-running minor meteor shower producing only about 5-10 meteors per hour. This shower is, however, famous for producing a higher than normal percentage of bright fireballs. The Northern Taurids is produced by dust grains left behind by Asteroid 2004 TG10. The shower runs annually from October 20 to December 10. It peaks this year on the the night of the 11th and morning of the 12th. The thin crescent moon will not be much of a problem this year leaving dark skies for what could be a really good show. Best viewing will be just after midnight from a dark location far away from city lights. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Taurus, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
November 30 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse. A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through the Earth's partial shadow, or penumbra. During this type of eclipse the Moon will darken slightly but not completely. The eclipse will be visible throughout most of North America, the Pacific Ocean, and northeastern Asia including Japan. (NASA Map and Eclipse Information)
December 21 - Rare Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. A conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn will take place on December 21. This rare conjunction of these two planets is known as a great conjunction. The last great conjunction occurred in the year 2000. The two bright planets will appear only 7 arc minutes of each other in the night sky. They will be so close that they will appear to make a bright double planet. Look to the west just after sunset for this impressive and rare planetary pair.
After you’ve come in with a little more wonder (and dappled cheeks!) you and your kiddos can make up your own stories and constellations while making hot cocoa. You can talk about what you wished for on the falling stars. You can read a book about your favorite planet, or just talk about your favorite part of the evening. Anything you do is fine, because you did something fantastic together.
GO START YOUR NEW TRADITION!
— The CG Crew
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