Review: Hey Clay Bugs

Playing with clay has been something that I've done with all my children from a very early age. They've loved being creative, but are often upset that they can't really keep their creations longer than the day they played with it.  When I learned about Hey Clay and that it's a pliable clay that can dry I was really interested to check it out. This way your child can make their bugs and continue to have creative play with them long after the day they were made.  Even though this item is part of the Timberdoodle Fourth Grade Curriculum Kit I knew my 12 year old son would enjoy it.  

Hey Clay Bugs is a really cool kit that arrived with 18 containers of air-dry clay. This clay is different than anything we've used before. It's a little stiff when first opened, but after working with the clay for a few minutes it softens up a bit.  This clay also has more of a sponge type texture and even after it dries it feels like nothing we've ever used before! One thing that is very cool about this product is the interactive app that you can download from either Google Play or the Apple App Store. It walks you step-by-step through how to make each of the 6 bugs features on the box of the kit. Clay is provided to make a spider, caterpillar, praying mantis, snail, ladybug or dragonfly.  The app is set up for all users to be able to succeed by allowing the user as much time as needed as well as the ability to back up if needed.  There are many these days with allergies that stop them from being able to use certain materials.  Hey Clay is wheat & gluten free as well as nontoxic and nonstaining. This can be so very important for our children while they are expressing their creative side.

Issac and I each decided to pick one bug as well as Issac chose to do something totally off the wall and NOT follow the directions :) I chose to do the caterpillar and Issac chose the 6-eyed spider.  I found the clay super easy to work with as well as the instructions were easy to follow. My only issue that I had was often I didn't really know how much of the clay I should be using. I wish there was a little better suggestion on the size or maybe even a template included that showed the sizes we needed to be using. I was often a little worried if I used too much maybe I wouldn't have enough to do another bug. When I was done I set my caterpillar to the side and was happily surprised the next morning to see how sturdy it had become.  

Issac chose to do the 6-eyed spider and enjoyed the silliness of the creation.  He does struggle with fine-motor skills, so he had a little trouble getting his legs just right.  He struggled with the eyes as well as I did and didn't care for the idea of using a pencil. He felt the pencil was a tad to large. We just changed the plan a little and I suggested he put the eyes together and then put them on the spider.  Thankfully Hey Clay Bugs is easily adaptable.

Overall even though Issac is 12 he really enjoyed the Hey Clay Bugs. He enjoyed it so much that he even wrote his own review and posted it on his YouTube channel.  This item is listed as 3+ and its definitely one of those items that works for a variety of ages.   I liked that the texture was a little stiffer in the beginning because that can be good for those with fine motor issues. The variety of colors was great and there is plenty to do all the bugs pictures.  In this day and age of technology often times I think our kids are losing the creative aspect that was there before technology. Have this app combines the best of both worlds I feel. It gives the artist the ability to follow the directions and have a great product or adapt as their creativity suggests and still come up with a great product. 

If bugs aren't your thing check out Hey Clay Animals.  Both of these items can be found at Timberdoodle.com as well as tons of other great items.