Beads

My kids have discovered a fun activity. Don't be fooled by the expression on Jaxon's face. He really did not want his picture taken so he rebelled in his own little way. He loves beads. I think they are called Perler Beads. They have tons of colors and you put them on a pre-made grid. Then an adult irons them. They fuse together for a somewhat permanent shape. My children spend hours doing these beads. They sit at the table talking about see-thru beads and what shape they are doing and what color they are looking for. This is a great thing. Yes, beads land on my floor. I think this is a small price to pay for an hour of not dealing with arguments or boredom. Yes, it is a little bit annoying to have to get up and iron when they get done, but they have learned that sometimes they have to wait a little while and I will get to it. I wondered if this was something that was specific to my kids- no. The other day we had 5 boys 8 to 4 years old sitting around our table making bead creations. Some of them have persuaded their moms to buy them some beads. I think this is a great thing. One thing that Jaxon needed to work on when he entered Kindergarten was his fine motor skills. This is great for Tanner. He get all these beads and puts them where ever he wants with the greatest of ease. So he gets lots of fine motor skill practice. We now have a wide variety of shapes for the kids to make- but the favorite shape is the square because they can make whatever they want. There is even a web site that gives them examples to copy. Alex likes to play with the beads. This IS annoying because I have to sit by him so the whole bucket of beads does not land onthe floor. We get out a muffin tin and he puts the beads in the different compartments.

We love beads!