Tell me about perler beads

[ett]

Are they good for a 3.5 year old? DS2 is pretty good with his fine motor skills and is able to lace very small beads. He's very into arts and crafts stuff so I think this is something he would like.

What do I need to get started? There seems to be a lot of options.

Thanks!

[pakin]

3.5 yo maybe a little bit young for Perler beads. DD wasn't that interested in making crafts with them until now that she is over 5. Anyway, her 4 yo cousin has no trouble with them.

You can start with a tiny kit like this: http://www.eksuccessbrands.com/perle...Kits_52820.htm They are $1 at Michael's and AC Moore. You many need a plastic tweezer to go with it. You need an iron to fuse the beads together. If your DS likes it, you can buy more later.

Around here AC Moore seems to have the best selections for kits and accessories. Hobby Lobby also carries some. You can use coupon for both stores.

HTHs.

Pakin

DS 4/2001
DD 6/2005

[Karinyc]

They have larger bead sets for younger children. I work with children as young as 5 1/2 and the regular perler beads are at times a little challenging for them. It takes a great deal of patience and time for the younger kids to complete a template.

I recommend the larger beads:
http://www.koolstuff4kids.com/70711.html

[ett]

Thanks everyone. The bigger beads look good for DS2. I saw the board for the bigger beads at AC Moore today, but they didn't have any of the actual beads. Maybe I will check another AC Moore or Michaels.

[alien_host]

I started Pearler beads with DD when she was almost 4. At first she just really did a lot of sorting with the beads. She also would fill a small template but it would be random...she didn't follow the patterns to make an actual design but just put random colors.

Now at almost 5.5 she can do a template but she uses her fingers, not the tweezers and it is still hard to finish since it does require a lot of patience.

I've never seen the bigger beads, that sounds like it would work well for younger kids. I do hate how I find pearler beads every where though! They are a pain when they get dropped, but they are better than Pixos!