Perler Bead Projects for Kids

August 8, 2023 by Sarah White Leave a Comment

Perler beads are a super fun craft item for kids to use. Also known (by me, anyway) as melty beads, these colorful pieces of plastic are assembled into different shapes on a grid, then melted together by ironing on top of them (with protective paper on top, of course!).

They’re a great craft for kids who are big enough not to put the beads in their mouths. They give a lot of great fine motor skill practice, help kids to learn how to follow a pattern (it’s almost like coding) and requires patience if the project is very big or detailed. It’s also a lot of fun to see the magic of the beads turning into a solid piece, and making fun 8-bit images of all sorts.

If you’re new to working with melty beads, check out this list of 17 easy Perler bead projects from Cool Kids Crafts. One of my favorites is the rainbow, which comes from Steamsational.

Instead of filling a peg board with beads, you can use a cookie cutter and layer the inside area with beads, then bake in the oven to make an ornament. Mama in the Now has the tutorial.

These melty bookmarks from What Do We Do All Day are both easy to make and useful for kids, as a teacher gift for the library center or for grandparents.

DIY Candy has a great collection of summer themed Perler bead patterns for all skill levels. The mermaids shown above are from this list.

Kandi Patterns and the Perler website are two great places to look for all sorts of Perler bead projects. Kandi Patterns has fuse bead projects as well as cuff beading, peyote stitch and more, but most of these can be used for Perler beads. They also have a pattern maker currently in development so you can make your own designs. The Perler website has lots of great detailed projects that are good for older kids and adults, including lots of three-dimensional project like the nutcracker shown above.

And if you don’t want to melt your melty beads, you can combine them with another classic kid craft material — rainbow loom bands — and make a fun bracelet. Check out the tutorial from Dabbles and Babbles.

If you really get into melty beads and want to add some technology into the mix, check out my review of the smART Pixelator melty bead device.

Fun Thanksgiving Perler Bead Patterns

Perler Bead Snowflake Patterns

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Gifts Kids Can Make with Perler Beads

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Book Review: Las Mañanitas

The celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is important throughout Mexico and other parts of the world. Her feast day is Dec. 12, and the celebrations honoring her appearance to Juan Diego in 1531 begin a few days before that.

Whether you celebrate yourself or just want to share about the celebration at home or in your classroom, Las Mañanitas: The Beautiful Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a good place to start. The book, by Ernesto Joel Vega Rosales and Jeanette Gonzalez Seneviratne, with illustrations by Dana Sanmar, tells the story of a family’s celebration of the feast day in both English and Spanish.

They prepare with a novena, which is nine days of prayers and preparations. The children, Lucia and Pablo, are given special outfits made by their grandmother that look like what Juan Diego might have worn when he saw Our Lady. The book describes the prayers that are made each day, such as a prayer for respect for life, for families and for the indigenous people of the Americas, to name a few.

As told in the book, Juan Diego was a native Mexican born near modern day Mexico City. His given name was Cuaauhtlatoatzin, which means “He who speaks like an eagle.” When he converted to Christianity his name was changed to Juan Diego, and as he walked to church he passed a hill called Tepeyac. One day he heard the birds singing especially beautifully and a voice called him to go to the top of the hill.

There he saw Our Lady of Guadalupe, who asked him to tell the bishop she wanted a chapel built in her name at the foot of the hill. The bishop asked for a sign that Juan Diego really saw her, and later she had him collect flowers that she blessed and take them to the bishop. When Juan Diego dropped the flowers, an image of Our Lady could be seen on his cloak, which is still on display in her basilica to this day.

The feast day is celebrated as mañanitas, which includes singing, indigenous music and dancing, and children presenting flowers to Our Lady. Juan Diego is remembered today as being humble, brave and faithful, and was the first indigenous American made a saint.

The book is colorful and tells the story in a clear way, and it’s fun to have it both in English and Spanish if you teach Spanish or speak Spanish at home or in the classroom. It’s a great way to learn the basics of the celebration and the story of Juan Diego and why he is still remembered today.

About the book: 40 pages, paperback, published 2024 by Loyola Press. Suggested retail price $14.99.

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Have you read?

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