It cost SGD9.90 and there are many, many, many beads! I went to google and it mentioned that there is about 15000 beads in a tub! For SGD9.90, it is a very good deal!
I had also purchased the beads shapes from IKEA at SGD2.90! I was chirping like a bird! (Cheap! Cheap! Cheap!)
However, at that point of time, Big J was just 3 years old and he couldn't really manage the beads very well (and Small J put everything in his mouth, making these beads hazardous). I put it in the storeroom and they were forgotten until last week, when both of them were down with high fever and I desperately needed activities to keep them occupied, I remembered these!
We started off with making his teachers' names and I could see a vast improvement in the way Big J handled the beads (and Small J no longer picks and eats!)!
We made a total of 3 art pieces: Liu Laoshi's name and a heart for her, and Teacher Kelly's name. I didn't have a chance to take a photo of our work as he was so eager to rush down to his childcare to pass them to his teachers the moment they were done! Not forgetting my helper, who helped us to fuse the beads using the iron!
Yesterday when we went to Orchard Road for a walk, we came across this shop "Growing Fun" in Paragon. (https://www.growingfun.com)
Big J was immediately attracted to the series of HAMA beads! He was staring at them until I could not bear to disappoint him and I finally gave him the choice of choosing a toy he wanted in that shop. He immediately grabbed the HAMA Construction Set and walked to the cashier.
This set cost SGD34.90 and it came with 4000 beads, a vehicle peg board, a design sheet that consists of 5 construction vehicles' design, an ironing paper and an instruction booklet.
The moment we reached home, he took it out from the shopping bag and started to open it up. He started off with his creation with minimal help. As for me, I did something which I find it tedious, sorting the assorted beads for him!
As for this plastic sorting box, I had purchased it quite awhile ago from Taobao for other purpose. It came in handy when I was about to sort the beads and I decided to purchase another one for what I supposed to use it for. Haha!
Anyway, while I was sorting out the beads (my fingers cramped at times while sorting them!!), Big J did his dump truck. After near 3 hours of arranging, he was finally done!
Same thing, my helper helped to iron the beads to fuse them.
It was impressive for him to complete this all by himself, with full concentration! Thumbs up!!
Since I had used both PYSSLA and HAMA beads, I could say that PYSSLA beads fused faster as compared to HAMA beads.
As for individual beads, the thickness differs too! PYSSLA beads tends to be thinner as compared to HAMA beads.
Personally, I felt that Big J had a easier time in handling HAMA beads as they seem to be more "attached" to the peg board once being placed on it.
I had just made a purchase from AMAZON for Perler beads and hope to receive them real soon for me to make a comparison.
I felt that this is a good activity for children as it lengthen their attention span and also, helps in their eye-hand coordination! Most importantly, we can do it together as a family-bonding activity. I love to create my own creations too! It is fun and quite addictive!
Go down to IKEA and grab a set to try them out if you have not! :)
Have fun!!
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