Don't get much time to get on here these days. Thankyou to everyone who has read any of my reviews x...
Don't get much time to get on here these days. Thankyou to everyone who has read any of my reviews xx
Member since:16.09.2003
Reviews:15
Members who trust:4
Im sure that many of you may not know what Hama Beads are. That was certanly my case until I started working at my current place of work and the children there use them.
In the initial start up pack you get various sizes and colours of beads, mats to place the beads onto, paper for when you iron them into place and an idea leaflet with various design on them. These sets can be purchased from many leading toy stores including Toys r Us and Ikea (which do wonderful Large boxes of top up beads very reasonably priced.) Once you have the main boards you only need to buy more beads.
Well, the children at work love them and they are aged 5 to 11 years. They will often play with them for up to 2 hours at a time but quite alot of adult supervision is required for the ironing part and it can be quite messy if they get dropped all over the floor. Before any activity starts its a good idea to make sure you have enough of the same colour beads to make a selection of the things advertised on the work sheet. Nothing worse than starting something that you can't finish.
The activity goes something like this: Children use the various colour beads to make patterns, shapes, figures, animals etc onto the mats that are provided. This is then ironed over with the paper provided making the plastic melt very slightly and holding the whole design in place. Once cooled down the design can be lifted off the mat and should hold in place. I would recomend that it is ironed for slightly longer then it says just to make sure that it all stays together. If little bits do come off it is possible to iron them on again if you are very careful.
This activity is reasonably priced costing from a few ponuds for just the beads up to £20 for a large set. Something that surprised me was that initially I saw it as a toy that girls would enjoy but have gone on to watch boys making various things such as medals, picture frames, and designs and really enjoying it.
I havent come across anything else on the market that is similar to this that actually produces something to keep at the end of it. That isn't to say its not out there, just I havent seen it yet.
Because the beads can be bought in various sizes it means it can be customized to meet the ages of your children. Large beads for ease of handling for the younger ones and smaller beads with more intricate designs for the older ones.
All in all I think this product is very good value for money, for a variety of ages and for boys and girls.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Advantages: fun, creative, aid childs development, good quality, fair prices Disadvantages: not something you want to knock over, can be a bit fiddly if you get small beads
ilusvm 14.05.2005 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Hama Beads
Advantages: Teaches co-ordination, motoring skills, colours and allows artistic integrity Disadvantages: Can cause World War 3 when a full board gets knocked over
mizz_behaves 20.09.2006 (20.09.2006)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Hama Beads
Advantages: fun, creative, aid childs development, good quality, fair prices Disadvantages: not something you want to knock over, can be a bit fiddly if you get small beads
ilusvm 14.05.2005 ·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Hama Beads
Advantages: Teaches co-ordination, motoring skills, colours and allows artistic integrity Disadvantages: Can cause World War 3 when a full board gets knocked over
mizz_behaves 20.09.2006 (20.09.2006)
·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Hama Beads
Oct 10th, 2003
very helpful by (17%):
helpful by (78%):
somewhat helpful by (6%):
