7 play suggestions with granulated clay playfoam
Author: Sharon Wing
Game leader and mother
Playfoam consists of small balls that stick together. These sticky balls can be kneaded into all sorts of shapes. The balls weigh almost nothing, making the material pleasant to handle. Playfoam is available in many beautiful colors, is non-toxic, odorless, and only sticks to itself. Children can play with it wonderfully without getting themselves (or the furniture) dirty. Playfoam never dries out and can be used again and again.
You can think of Playfoam as a type of clay, with an emphasis on "type." For example, you can flatten it and cut out shapes with a clay cutter, but you cannot put it through a clay press. It is definitely different from normal playdough. Due to its structure, you cannot sculpt very detailed figures with it, but it is perfectly suitable for rough squeezing, kneading, pushing, and rolling. Now, this almost sounds like you can only do rough movements with Playfoam, but I certainly don't mean that. It is actually a very versatile material!
What can you do with it?
- 1. Of course, you can enjoy kneading the material, but you can also make all sorts of animals and shapes with it. For us, the colors of foam quickly got mixed up, but even then, it still looks very nice. (And if you're really bored, you could even pick the colors apart again.)
- 2. As mentioned, when making animals or shapes, you can only work quite coarsely. However, this is not a problem at all, especially if you work 'flat' with the foam, you can create fun two-dimensional figures. Or add googly eyes, sticks, and feathers to make the strangest creatures with this ball clay. If you use feathers, make sure the piece you push into the foam does not contain down, as this will stick to the balls.
- 3. Decorate the foam with sequins and other glitter stones to create the most fun bracelets, Christmas trees, Easter eggs, etc.
- 4. Another nice property of Playfoam is that it floats. So my 'odd duck' could actually swim, or you can make rafts from the foam or experiment with concepts like floating, sinking, and top-heavy.
- 5. We often use the foam as a base to play on. With these balls, you can quickly create a (rainbow) landscape with mountains and caves where you can play for hours with plastic animals.
- 6. Playfoam is also great in combination with a play kitchen or some pots, bowls, and spoons. You can make the most delicious soups, cakes, and sandwiches with it!
- 7. Try making 'blocks' from the foam; because it sticks together so easily, you can create the most beautiful constructions. Also very suitable for young children who are not yet good at building with regular blocks.
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