Perler Biggie Beads & Tray and Cards

Perler Biggie Beads & Tray and Cards

This is two separate purchases - the Bucket of 1200 Perler Biggie Beads and the Tray 'N Cards with transparent pegboard/grid, tray, ironing sheet, and 32 paper patterns. Ages 4+  

Use this biggie version of the popular Perler fuse beads as a pattern activity, over and over, without fusing. Each pattern card fits under the transparent pegboard/grid, so you can build right on top of it. I was pleasantly surprised when I received the Perler Biggie Beads Tray 'N Cards because it includes a tray for the grid so that the pattern does not slide around under the grid. Choose the picture you want to create, put it in the tray, and put the pegboard/grid on top.

Now go to work placing the beads onto the pegs, matching the color beneath each peg. Once the project is complete, remove the beads and build again, just like other pattern activities. Each pegboard, if completely filled, would hold 225 beads. There would be no need to fill in the white space around the object though. The grid is approximately six inches square, and the beads are approximately 3/8 inches wide. 

The Perler Biggie Beads are bigger than the small Perler beads many are familiar with. Below is an image of the Biggie Bead. 

Whenever I use Perler beads I like to keep my set of Perler tweezers nearby. The beads can be placed by hand, but if you spot a mistake that is already surrounded by other placed beads, it can be hard to extract the bead without disturbing others around it. That's when the tweezers come in handy. The tweezers are Perler brand and I found them at Michael's next to the Perler beads. I love these tweezers.

 

Patterns include animals, food, car, truck, basketball, and baseball. Here are a few examples:

Submarine                                    Pizza                                     Giraffe      

If you are interested in melting the beads and keeping each creation, there is a great video on Amazon for different techniques for ironing. Very informative. Click here to see the video (far left under product image).  The Perler Tray 'N Cards set does not come in a storage box, although the pattern cards are in a plastic bag.

If you would like to see a list of games with tweezers and tongs, click here.

Try this:

• Lay all or some of the beads on their sides on the table. Each bead the individual picks up will have to be turned in the fingertips to orient for placement. Lots of practice in one activity!
• Put the picture above or beside the plastic grid and build from there for a greater challenge.
• Hold two or three beads in the hand at a time, bringing one at a time to the fingertips to rotate and place on the grid.
• Stand the beads up if the individual cannot turn them once they are in the hand.
• Keep a pair of tweezers handy to help pick a bead off the grid in case a bead is placed incorrectly in a crowded area. I like the Perler brand scissors.
• Practice picking up beads with an open web space to help keep the fingers from bumping into other pieces while placing.
• Use a pair of tweezers to place the beads.
• Sort them by color and by handfuls into a muffin tin.
• Work on fine motor precision, manual dexterity, pincer grasp, tool use, finger thumb opposition, sequencing, visual discrimination, eye-hand coordination, spatial relations, figure ground, visual closure, executive functioning skills, process skills, play and leisure exploration and participation

If you are interested in purchasing this activity or just want more information, click on an image below to go to Amazon.com.