You guys, it is DECEMBER. How crazy is that!? I feel like this year flew by while I wasn’t looking, don’t you?
In typical Crafty fashion, we did our tree cutting and decorating starting on Black Friday. {I don’t do shopping on that day – too many people!!} Now we are all in festive spirits and can just enjoy the season. I LOVE Christmas.
Be sure to check back often for my holiday decor posts coming soon!
With the season of giving on my doorstep, I’ve already started thinking about what I’m getting my boys this year. Since I have them both home with me two days a week while I work, I’ve been really thinking hard on how to keep them entertained – without sacrificing them to the all consuming TV gods.
Don’t get me wrong, I love me some TV time! I just know that my boys need better stimulation than that, especially on an all day basis. I needed a little tech-free entertainment for him. I’ve obviously gotten J involved in some of my arty crafty stuff, but he isn’t always the most excited.
{What!? You don’t want to paint furniture with Mommy!? Horrors!}
Sometimes he gets into it, like above when we created some fun Minions art for his room, or below, when he made a hand print bouquet for his Nana.
Why does it always have to be paint?
I love the idea of letting his creativity flow, but I’m not always excited about the mess. Especially now that his baby brother is toddling about, climbing on and into everything. I can just see the little paint prints marking their way along my carpet . . . NOPE.
So let me just tell you that I was thrilled to be given the chance to show J how he can use his imagination to create – and not have to paint! My friends, I give you – Qixels.
Reading about Qixels was like reading about EXACTLY what I was looking for.
Qixels encourages boys to step away from the screen and sparks their imagination to create an 8-bit world of monsters, warriors, ninjas and more.
Qixels (pronounced “Quick-suls”) is a creative activity set that inspires kids to use their imagination with cubes that fuse together with a blast of water to create an 8-bit world of monsters, warriors, ninjas and more, all while stepping away from screens.
Um, isn’t that kind of exactly what I wanted?!
I have a feeling these are going to be great for Christmas gifts this year. I wasn’t willing to wait that long to try them out though, so J and I tried them out now.
We started with the simple version, called the Design Creator. Basically, there are these little colored pixel cubes, and character layout grids. J picked the one that resembled a dinosaur to start with.
Since my main goal here was to encourage his creativity, I just let him go. He picked his own colors and decided where to place them within the dinosaur outline. {I won’t pretend I didn’t have a little struggle with the lack of color coordination, but such is a Mommy’s life!}
It did make for a pretty colorful dinosaur!
Once J was satisfied with his creation, it was time to make magic! Qixels use a spray bottle (included) of water, which you soak your character with and allow to dry for 30 minutes. The special pixel cubes fuse together to lock in your creation!
The drying time was a good opportunity for J to get up and play, since he’d been sitting quietly and concentrating during the construction of his dino. When it was dry, he loved peeling it off the grid and playing with it!
We actually made two dinos that day, since J wanted to check out the other box of Qixels as well. This one was the Turbo Dryer, and came with a different sort of grids – ones with color outlines on them so you have a pattern to follow. I actually think J liked the simplicity of simply matching the pixel cubes to the pattern for his second character.
The Turbo Dryer was a bit more fun for him as well – it cuts off about ten minutes of drying time, and he liked getting to spin the wheel to drain the excess water.
And now we have two dinosaurs!!
The Turbo Dryer came with designs for other characters as well, like a crab and what I take to be a pirate. There’s plenty of cubes and the patterns can be used over and over, so I can see J having a ball with this for a while.
I’m really happy with the break from all the screens, and watching the creative spark ignite in J while he happily builds his characters. I’d highly recommend Qixels as a tech-free entertainment option for your kids – and I’m not sure it has to be limited to boys!
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
What other sorts of tech-free entertainment have you found for your kids?
I love linking up at these parties!