Ball plasticine: features and selection

Children often use ball plasticine for their imaginative play. With its gentle feel, vivid hues, and easily molded consistency, it’s a delightful and captivating material that allows children to let their imaginations run wild.

Ball plasticine has a distinct, lightweight feel because it contains small foam balls, unlike conventional clay or playdough. This gives play a fascinating sensory component that many kids find enjoyable.

It’s crucial to take into account aspects like color variety, ease of use, and safety when choosing ball plasticine. Children of all ages can enjoy hours of creative fun by selecting the correct product.

For kids, ball plasticine is an entertaining and multipurpose material that provides a creative and safe method of shaping and molding objects. Little hands can easily handle it thanks to its lightweight, non-sticky texture and the distinctive tactile feel imparted by the tiny beads in the mixture. To ensure a fun and safe play experience, it’s crucial to choose ball plasticine that is non-toxic, comes in a range of colors, and has a durable softness.

What is it?

Actually, it is quite strange that this mass is called plasticine, because in fact it has absolutely nothing to do with this material. It is more correct to say that ball plasticine – this is a set of a huge number of small balls of approximately the same size, which are most often made of polystyrene foam, although theoretically manufacturers can replace it with other similar materials. Such balls are connected to each other using a special glue, which also differs from manufacturer to manufacturer. The mass can be found both in a ready-made form, already mixed with glue, and dry – then the person who will sculpt, mixes the balls with glue himself immediately before the start of the creative process.

The strength of the final products is impacted by the low adhesion between the particles attached to the adhesive substance, since the particles should be easily separated—even by a small child. Large figures with intricate parts are usually not created for some kinds of such mass since they will not hold.

However, keep in mind that crafts made with ball plasticine are quite fragile, even if the material is chosen with hardening in mind. As a result, playing with toys made of this material is not advised.

Ball plasticine is most commonly used for modeling on a flat surface; it can be used to create beautiful applique paintings and paste over a variety of objects, including eggs, jars, and much more. This material could be considered decorative in a way.

Types

Most often, ball plasticine is classified into two main categories: by particle size and by the possibility of repeated use. Each of these categories involves two types of material, so the mass for modeling is represented in total by four main types of plasticine. By particle size, ball plasticine is divided into coarse-grained and fine-grained. Large grains are often chosen for young children who tend to put everything in their mouths. Due to the size of the particles, the chances of the baby swallowing them are at least slightly reduced. The small diameter of individual elements is good because it allows you to more carefully emphasize small details, whether it is a three-dimensional figure or a picture on a plane.

Regarding the potential for recurrent usage, it exists or it does not. Ball plasticine is primarily used for modeling, skill training, and entertainment purposes. Most types of ball plasticine assume that the child is not trying to create some kind of masterpiece that his parents or he himself would like to keep for a long time. Since such a mass naturally loses shape more easily, crafts made of it can always be "disassembled" and transformed into something entirely different. The purpose of hardening plasticine is entirely different; it is used to make products that are at least somewhat durable.

It will no longer be possible to shape the resulting fragments into something else; they will simply crumble and not attach to one another, making the figurine delicate and dangerous to play with.

This kind of mass is sold in unique jars to prevent it from drying out before it is shaped because it hardens in the open air in less than a day.

All other criteria indicate that deviations are extremely uncommon. Ball plasticine is typically very light and airy, which is great for children’s creativity. However, the density of the material varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and in some cases, a heavier special mass is available for those with stronger hands. Typically, plasticine of this kind is made of foam plastic; however, some producers may use alternative materials to create balls, with the primary selection criteria being elasticity and lightness, in order to reduce production costs or for other reasons.

Sets

Today, most types of plasticine are sold not only as a material, but also in the form of sets, for example, with tools for modeling, molds and other useful and interesting accessories. Ball plasticine does not seem to be an exception here, but none of the described additions to it are needed – it is usually supplemented with such an unusual bonus for other types of modeling masses as coloring pictures. In fact, this is quite logical, because the material is used in many ways to create pictures on a plane. Coloring pictures assume the presence of ready-made outlines of drawings on topics close to children of a certain age and range of interests, for example, depicting various fairy-tale plots, frames from popular cartoons, other images interesting to children such as cars for boys and portraits of fairies for girls. to.

All the child needs to do is fill in the spaces between these outlines with multicolored ball plasticine pieces to create an incredibly vivid and relief-like picture.

You can be certain that the diameter of the balls is small enough to successfully "draw" all the details of the pictures because the coloring book and the "dye" are released together.

Additionally, there are surprise-filled sets where children can "paint" an object rather than just a flat surface. As such, a small decorative vase with a lovely shape and a somewhat neutral appearance can work quite well. The child’s job is to turn this blank into a true work of art by pasting foam balls of the color he thinks is more appropriate on the outside. Nonetheless, the creators’ creativity is quite boundless; they could easily include a blank for a stunning toy that they will never be able to play with but will always be able to be proud of.

Benefits for development

Even though the advantages of modeling for kids have been discussed extensively, it is important to revisit the subject in the context of ball plasticine because this material differs significantly from other modeling materials. It’s even possible to observe that this combination uniquely blends the developmental benefits of drawing and modeling.

The child’s fine motor skills are first developed, though in this case they differ slightly from what is needed when using traditional plasticine. Specifically, the foam version is not ideal for the classic beginner activity of shaping "sausages" and "balls," as it necessitates the immediate creation of a complex, frequently flat shape. Here, the little master’s signature motion will be pinching off small pieces and then placing them where they belong. Rolling something is not as characteristic.

The second skill that needs to be cultivated is imaginative creativity. The material is primarily purchased by children who are relatively conscious and have a clear idea of what they want to create, as it is not well suited for abstract exercises. The child still needs to use their imagination to choose the colors for each field, even if they have access to a coloring book with pre-made contours. In the absence of a coloring book, the child will have to sketch the outlines, decide on the final design, and bring his idea to life—all of which will greatly enhance the development of spatial thinking.

Thirdly, the part of the imagination that is in charge of formulating intricate plans and carrying out projects grows. Making even a relatively simple craft out of ball plasticine requires going through a number of steps, such as first prepping the balls by combining them with an adhesive base (if the manufacturer hasn’t done this already), then, if needed, creating the desired shades from the available colors, sketching out the contours, and finally packing them full of mass.

Stated differently, the child must visualize a lengthy and intricate process in detail even before beginning the execution; this is a difficult task, but it is the only method to train the brain.

Tips for choosing

First of all, it’s important to remember that kids older than regular are advised to use ball plasticine. Though opinions on when to begin exercises using this material vary, most people agree that it is worthwhile to begin around age five (of course, in the immediate presence of adults). While it is not necessary, it is preferable if the child possesses some modeling and drawing abilities at least before attempting to work with ball plasticine.

When selecting a particular mass subtype, all of this is contingent upon the objectives that have been established.Reusable ball plasticine is especially better suited for training young learners or those who have already shown promise through accomplishments. Because of the tiny parts, the fine-grained version will resemble a particular kind of plasticine, whereas the coarse-grained version is more akin to a constructor.

Selecting a mass with large grains is preferable if the child is still quite small because there is less chance of him inadvertently swallowing even one of these particles.

Hardening ball plasticine is purchased only if, there is confidence that the little master will be able to cope with the task that he sets for himself. This will help to preserve the masterpiece, but if the craft is spoiled by careless, inept or ill-considered actions of the child, then it will be impossible to correct the situation. A coarse-grained option is suitable for creating large-sized figurines and paintings, provided that a clearly visible surface relief can be regarded as a special artistic effect. Fine-grained mass should be chosen to noticeably simplify the "drawing" of small details, as well as to give the product a different type of texture, which from a long distance may not even be perceived as grainy.

For kids, ball plasticine is a creative and entertaining material with countless applications. It’s a great option for developing fine motor skills and imagination because of its lightweight texture and capacity to hold shapes.

Selecting the appropriate kind of ball plasticine is contingent upon the child’s age, inclinations, and intended usage. This adaptable material works well for a range of activities, including play, art projects, and sculpting.

Adding ball plasticine to playtime is a fun and engaging way to support children’s development while also keeping them entertained.

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