Today in 31 Days of Learning, we have a lovely craft activity; we are going to help you make learn how to make Hama bead coasters with your children thanks to the very crafty Jennifer from Jennifer’s Little World. Do take note though, this craft activity is not suitable for very young children as there is a risk of choking due to small parts.
As a family we all love Hama beads. I first discovered the beads when the children were younger, and over the years we’ve had lots of fun coming up with different designs using the colourful beads and differently shaped pegboards.
I’ve learned that Hama beads are brilliant for teaching and developing all sorts of skills in children. As well as the fine motor skills that come with learning to pick up and position the beads on the board, they also teach children colour recognition and colour sorting skills, as well as helping them to think about which colours look good together.
I’ve enjoyed watching my children’s progress with the beads over time. They began with the random placement of beads onto the boards, then moved on to choosing colours and placing the beads in different patterns. Finally they learned to copy and create more complex designs.
These simple Hama bead coasters are a great way to encourage children to come up with their own designs by patterning the coloured beads in different ways, and are a fun way to brighten up your coffee table or to give as gifts.
How to make Hama bead coasters
All you need to get started with Hama beads are some pegboards and the beads.
If you need to get advice on what products to get; we used the following in this (UK Amazon affiliate links):
- Square, Hexagonal & Round Pegboard for small (midi Hama Beads),
- Hama Beads 10,000 Beads and 5 Pegboards Tub, and
- Hama Beads Solid Mix in Tub.
There are more than enough beads, and a few different shaped boards for you within these three sets.
For making coasters you need one of the smaller pegboards, which are available in a variety of suitable shapes. I used the small square, small circular and small hexagonal boards. The beads that I use are the midi size which measure 5mm in length and diameter and come in a wide range of colours. A good way to begin is with a tub of mixed beads which contains plenty of different colours to get you going.
By limiting the colour choice to two or three colours it’s easier to encourage pattern making. Try to choose contrasting colours so that the patterns created will be nice and clear. Then just show the child how to place the beads onto the pegboards and see what patterns they can make. The boards are very well designed to enable you to come up with lots of different pattern options on even the most simple of shapes.
Completing your design
Hama beads are designed to be ironed together to make a permanent finished product, but you don’t have to iron every design that you create as the beads and boards can be reused as many times as you like.
When you have made a design that you want to keep, place some ironing paper or baking paper over the top of the beads and iron using a low heat for a few seconds, keeping the iron moving slowly over the beads. If you are new to Hama beads you can find some tips and tricks for ironing the beads on my blog – How to Iron Hama beads.
The ironed coaster will be sturdy and can be used even for hot drinks, it’s also easy to clean.
You can have a lot of fun coming up with different designs by looking for the shapes that can be found within the shaped pegboards. For example the hexagonal board can be formed of smaller hexagons or triangles, and the square board can be used to make smaller squares or rectangles. Even just a simple striped pattern can be very effective.
Have fun seeing what you can create!
Isn’t this just a lovely set of designs and a great idea as well? You never need to buy another coaster again!?!?
We hope you like this hama bead coasters crafty activity, we do have a few other crafts and printables to help with motor skills, and creativity, why not check some of these out too?
Craft activities for motor skills
More ideas of KiddyCharts for the development of motor skills and creativity.
Unicorn craft: Glitter art
Who doesn't love a Unicorn - a lovely activity for the kids from young to old. Adapt what you do with the picture too, so that you can create something different depending on the age of your child.
Mermaid craft for kids: Sequins under the sea
If there is a unicorn, there is always a mermaid...! We have a mermaid sequin activity here too. Another good one to try for a bit of creativity and motor development.
Simple rainbow crafts for kids: Rainbow rice funtime!
We all love a rainbow! And this is a lovely activity with rice and cotton wool that your kids will love too.
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Friday 27th of March 2020
Wow...This is concise and straight to the point. Thanks for sharing.