Playing with PlayMais

Last week the children received this…..

PlayMais

Intrigued? I was!

This is PlayMais and it is quite unlike anything we have played with before. It is light, bright and colourful and feels like a cross between that polystyrene packaging material and maize baby snacks! It’s very versatile and can be used across all ages as it is a 100% safe and natural product as it’s made from maize and food colouring.

playmais table

There are a wide range of sets available, from mosaics to worlds to boxes simply crammed full of PlayMais. Which does bring me to the first thing I’d say about PlayMais – the boxes really are full to the brim, be warned! I think it’s brilliant that they have used every bit of available space within their boxes and it also makes them exciting for kids to open as they are practically spilling over. The basic boxes come with an ideas booklet with step by step creations, a sponge and a knife for cutting the PlayMais into smaller pieces.

The kids emptied a mosaic box over the table and got cracking on creating some pictures. They are nice and simple to follow, as as you can see, the colours and positioning of each piece is detailed on the card so the children just need to place a piece on top.

PlayMais playing

To bond the PlayMais together, just a touch of water is needed. I was actually surprised by how little water they would need to stick together, they do need to just be damp. The small orange sponge that you see pictured above came within our mosaic set, and I simply wet it, squeezed off the excess water and popped it down for the kids to use and that was all that was needed.

PlayMais mosaic

At 6, Boo loved doing this, and concentrated on it until her picture was complete. Little Man, at 3, enjoyed having a go at it and fully understood what he needed to do, but his attention wandered after a while and he chose to just play with the PlayMais.

Whilst the kids were creating, I found myself running my hands through it and I might have made a little person myself! It’s difficult to resist having a go and I wanted to see how well 3D shapes would hold together. It turns out that they hold well, as that little caterpillar there was then played with by Little Man for quite some time and actually remains in tact!

PlayMais Creations

I see PlayMais as being a brilliant activity to span all ages and abilities. It is very tactile, safe, and can be adapted to create many 2D pictures and 3D models. The PlayMais can be borken in half, cut into smaller pieces, rolled into balls, flattened into rectangular shapes – whatever you need it to do to help you to make the model that you are aiming for. I had a little look at the Instagram PlayMais hash tag when I shared some the other day and I found myself absorbed by the many brilliant and fun creations over there – do take a look!

The verdict? We now love PlayMais here!

playmais play

I do now have a PlayMais bundle available for one of my lucky readers. To be in with a chance of winning it, please enter using the rafflecopter below. The competition closes 16th May 2016 at 12am and is open to UK entrants only. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

What do you think of PlayMais?

Disclosure: We received this FOC for the purposes of this post, though all words and opinions remain my own

Sharing is caring!

73 thoughts on “Playing with PlayMais”

  1. I think that it looks really intriguing, I think the kids would love creating some lovely 3D pictures with it

  2. Hi Jocelyn, oOOoooo that PlayMais looks like fun (I am that person who enjoys plunging my arms into polystyrene curls that come in boxes). How you didn’t get stuck in too I don’t know.

    It’s such a simple idea, but with a little imagination so much can be created with it. It certainly gets the thumbs up from me.

    xx

  3. Looks like it requires a lot of concentration, great craft activity for kids & some peace & quiet for grown ups!

  4. They look awesome….I work in a primary school and can already imagine the fun the kids would have with them.

  5. I think these look really fun. The biggest challenge would be keeping my daughter from making a mess with them.

  6. Rachel Butterworth

    Really unique. I haven’t seen a toy like this before (to be honest when I first saw it I thought it was a close-up of Rainbow Drops).

  7. Really fun! We’ve tried these on holiday in Europe, and they’re great fun, you can build with them too!

  8. Deborah Mackenzie

    it looks like a lot of fun – but think I would have to devise a way to keep it contained or it could end up all over the house.

  9. andrea tinkler

    Love how colourful it is and how creative you can be with it. sort of thing i would get involved with playing as well

  10. Phyllis Ellett

    I like the size of the ‘nibblets’ not to small so they are fiddly but not to big to stop you making great creations.

  11. Fabulous prize. it would keep my granddaughter amused for hours as she loves creative activities.

  12. It looks great fun and I am sure that all children would love it. To be able to create a beautiful picture will be such a rewarding experience for all children.

  13. I looks very different to a lot of other creative products for children – I think my son would love this!

  14. Danielle stewart

    Wow! Iv never heard of these before till I read your blog! My son Noah is 5 years old and is currently in a motor skills group where they are trying him with different types of activities like this to develop the muscles in his hands. I would love to try this with him as I think it would really bring him on. Xox

  15. Am just concerned that young children may be tempted to put it in their mouths because it looks like sweeties, but then supervision by adults should sort that out. It looks really good fun and I love the idea it can be cut into smaller pieces, rolled into balls and squashed together. Would love a set for the granddaughters but I wonder who would have more fun-me or them?

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *