Since I've been homeschooling my first and third grader, I've been looking for fun ways to keep them engaged. We've been trying to do more arts & crafts so we were thrilled to try Super Beads from Zirrly.

We received the pack of Super Beads Jungle Animals.

Getting Started:

The box comes with the directions, project templates, trays, organizer, spray bottle, tool, and beads for your project.

What makes Super Beads different is that all you need is water to fuse the beads together, instead of using an iron.

In our kit we had multiple templates. My children chose to complete the lion, rhino, zebra, and owl. The lion was actually a two-part template so I had to place the trays next to each other.

Activity:

Since the beads are small, I recommend parental supervision for children.

I allowed all my children to participate, so we had twin 4-year olds, a 7, and 8-year old completing the crafts.

First, place the template underneath the tray. I would tape the template to the tray so when your child lifts up the tray it doesn’t move and destroy the pattern.

For some reason my children kept wanting to compare their project to the template, so they kept lifting up the tray.

Next, the templates are color-coded so it makes it very easy to complete the pattern.

However, keep in mind that in order to make the project the beads have to be placed on correctly. Although this craft is meant for older children, my 7-year old who is very meticulous had no problem and was finished first.

Things to Look Out For:

The colors of the beads may get on your child’s hands as they are doing the activity. It’s not a big deal and comes off easily once they wash their hands. We washed our hands with soap and water after we finished.

My children also noticed the strong glue smell coming from the beads. We did the activity outside but I did also notice the smell as well.

When opening the beads, pour them into the organizer. The organizer is great because it has sections to pick the beads up easily.

Once you finish the project after it dries, you can either keep it in the tray and put it on display or take it out.

We took them out, and all of them came out successful except one. The beads take longer to dry than listed, and you have to make sure that you put the beads in correctly.

I think the better option is to keep them in the tray as a decoration, in case they come apart so that way you don't have beads all over the place.

Overall:

Super Beads are great for children that are patient, because they do take time to finish the project. It took my children about 30-45 minutes to finish their projects.

I think that after you do the activity once, it will get easier because you know what to do so that they will come out correctly.