Busy Beaders
Thursday, September 20, 2012 at 10:48PM When Christian and Michaela were little, a friend introduced me to beads that I had never heard of. They were very tiny plastic ones, and rather than round and ball-shaped, they were like eensy cylinders. The beads came in myriad colors and were begging to be used by wee fingers. My kids spent hours creating designs with the beads on small peg boards (Of course I bought them after my friend's recommendation...it was more like she said,"YOU HAVE TO HAVE THESE FOR YOUR CHILDREN, IT'S FOR THE CHILDREN!!"). Michaela and Christian also spent a fair amount of time spreading a thousand beads all over the basement floor in the house we lived in at that time. Once the kids were done with their designs, I ironed them, melting the beads together for a finished product. My other MO was to leave the designs on the peg boards on the ironing board, where they eventually got knocked over before being ironed, thereby ruining the incomparable, unduplicatable design and causing much dismay and despair, and there was great weeping and gnashing of teeth in all the land.
Since then, these children have made more drink coasters than even the White House would ever need, but for the last couple of years, our bead supply has dwindled greatly and the beads and design boards have been put away where they couldn't find them in hiding.
Until recently. They were rediscovered. Michaela and Christian became bead fiends, fighting one another for the precious last shiny orange bead, or the dolphin gray bead, for no other color will work for a dolphin, OF COURSE, or the prized see-through turquoise bead, the only one left of its color, and the only one which would finish off the second stripe of a symmetrical pair of lines, and which was the final bead of the entire configuration so the bead was the rightful property of the designer who needed that bead, and only that bead, to complete his creation.
We needed new beads, is what I'm saying.
And did we ever get some!
This should keep them happy. Eleven thousand beads! A rainbow in a bucket.
I also bought a couple of closable sorting trays, hoping it would make it easier for them to find and use the colors they want. The girls got busy right away organizing the beads into the container.
What progress!
Ha! This might take a while.
The three of them were very industrious this afternoon. If only I could say the same thing about myself!
They haven't made anything since the new beads arrived, but here are the things they made a few days ago.
Christian's
Michaela's
Eliana still just watches them and messes around with the beads. She was enjoying sticking her hand into the new bucket today and letting them slip through her fingers like sand! She told me to try it, and I have to confess, they felt almost silky!
Maybe ordering the beads will keep her occupied while I'm doing work with Michaela. Eliana, Math, done!
Reader Comments (4)
We LOVE the beads. But you should give credit to Mr. Perler. Whoever he is. He gets the credit.
Allyson and Mitchell love those too. I sit with them and make them too. Don't recommend buying cheap knock off brand ones at Walmart though. They just don't work as good as the Perler brand ones. Hours and hours of entertainment. Allyson has even used them on string before to make bracelets and necklaces. We made many Christmas ornaments with them too. So fun :)
Missy, yes, I will!
Karen, I like the idea of stringing them...Eliana might like that too. :)
I love the feel of running my hands through a bin of beads. In fact, those and dried beans were some of the best sensory tools we used when my Sweetboy was a toddler to help him.