10 Reasons to Get Crafty with Playfoam
- Learning Resources Posted On Jan 9, 2023 | Play
Crafting is a great way to help children build a variety of skills, from dexterity to problem-solving. Playfoam® is an ideal crafting medium because it’s child-friendly, never dries out and can be used over and over again. Here are 10 reasons to get crafty with Playfoam. Grab a few pods and spend your next crafting session helping your child build these skills.
10 reasons to get crafty with Playfoam
1. Fine motor skills
Pinching, scooping, squeezing, pressing, and rolling Playfoam helps your kids build the fine motor skills and manual dexterity they need in order to button their shirts, hold a crayon, and eat with a fork.
2. Hand-eye coordination
Crafting generally requires the use of both hands, working in tandem, building bilateral and hand eye coordination.
3. Shape, colour, and texture identification
Crafting provides hands-on experience with different shapes, colours, and textures – press your Playfoam into a square or make a rainbow with multiple colours! Older kids can squish the Playfoam into letters and numbers or even sculpt their names.
4. Vocabulary skills
Talk to your kids while you craft together. What are they making? What colours are they using? How does the Playfoam feel in their fingers? All that chit chat introduces new words and provides exposure to the overall flow of language.
5. Risk-free exploration
Experimenting with different shapes, colours, structures, and techniques during craft time is a great way to encourage your kids to try new things with no risk of failure or judgement.
6. Problem-solving
What shapes do you need to make a Playfoam snowman? Should they be the same size? Which shape goes on the bottom and which on the top? Figuring out what needs to happen in order to craft the creation kids envision helps builds strategic thinking skills.
8. Self-expression
Crafting allows kids to express their feelings even when they don’t have the experience to identify them or the words to communicate them. Look closely at your child’s creations, including their choice of colours, and ask them about what you’re seeing.
9. Confidence and self-esteem
The feedback kids get when creating arts and crafts is a definite confidence booster. Compliment everything from the effort your child put into their masterpiece to their choice of colours and unique construction.
10. Crafting reduce stress
Arts and crafts are proven to reduce feelings of stress and anxiety in both adults and children. Squeezing, pressing, pulling, and flattening sensory-soothing Playfoam – particularly when your kids are feeling overstimulated – can be especially relaxing.
Find more fun Playfoam craft ideas to try at home or in the classroom. Shop our wide range of Playfoam here to get squishing, squashing, and crafting.
Crafting is a great way to help children build a variety of skills, from dexterity to problem-solving. Playfoam® is an ideal crafting medium because it’s child-friendly, never dries out and can be used over and over again. Here are 10 reasons to get crafty with Playfoam. Grab a few pods and spend your next crafting session helping your child build these skills.
Explore more ways to play with Playfoam:
1. Fine motor skills
Pinching, scooping, squeezing, pressing, and rolling Playfoam helps your kids build the fine motor skills and manual dexterity they need in order to button their shirts, hold a crayon, and eat with a fork.
2. Hand-eye coordination
Crafting generally requires the use of both hands, working in tandem, building bilateral and hand eye coordination.
3. Shape, colour, and texture identification
Crafting provides hands-on experience with different shapes, colours, and textures – press your Playfoam into a square or make a rainbow with multiple colours! Older kids can squish the Playfoam into letters and numbers or even sculpt their names.
4. Vocabulary skills
Talk to your kids while you craft together. What are they making? What colours are they using? How does the Playfoam feel in their fingers? All that chit chat introduces new words and provides exposure to the overall flow of language.
5. Risk-free exploration
Experimenting with different shapes, colours, structures, and techniques during craft time is a great way to encourage your kids to try new things with no risk of failure or judgement.
6. Problem-solving
What shapes do you need to make a Playfoam snowman? Should they be the same size? Which shape goes on the bottom and which on the top? Figuring out what needs to happen in order to craft the creation kids envision helps builds strategic thinking skills.
8. Self-expression
Crafting allows kids to express their feelings even when they don’t have the experience to identify them or the words to communicate them. Look closely at your child’s creations, including their choice of colours, and ask them about what you’re seeing.
9. Confidence and self-esteem
The feedback kids get when creating arts and crafts is a definite confidence booster. Compliment everything from the effort your child put into their masterpiece to their choice of colours and unique construction.
10. Crafting reduce stress
Arts and crafts are proven to reduce feelings of stress and anxiety in both adults and children. Squeezing, pressing, pulling, and flattening sensory-soothing Playfoam – particularly when your kids are feeling overstimulated – can be especially relaxing.
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