Beading for children - just for fun or is it a good learning opportunity?

Beading is great fun for children of all ages. It provides an opportunity to develop and display their creativity. It is also an activity that provides relaxation and a break away from hectic lifestyles. While engaging in this fun activity children are also learning or further developing a number of important skills including:

• Design - Selecting beads and colours and laying them out to form a design is part of every beading project, it develops design skills and confidence
• Hand eye co-ordination -Threading beads onto jewellery wire or elastic and using tools to open and close jump rings or curl wire to form loops develops hand eye coordination
• Patterning - Creating necklaces or bracelets often involves creating a pattern of beads and repeating is multiple times, this develops patterning skills
• Colour matching and coordination - Beading involves effective use of colour, selecting beads of the same colour or colour group or colours that coordinate
• Counting - Beading involves counting to create patterns or to re-create designs
• Measurement - Many beading projects require measuring skills, for example to ensure correct necklace or bracelet length or to create a consistent sized loop
• Estimation - When designing a project estimation skills are used to create a first attempt or to estimate the length required
• Visual memory and repetition - When creating an intricately patterned project visual memory skills are used to repeat patterns. Visual memory skills are also used when designing a project based on something seen on someone, in a magazine or on the web