Timberdoodle's Hey Clay Bugs Review

Hey Clay Bugs

Timberdoodle sent us Hey Clay Bugs to review!  This is super fun as C's name is Clay and he loves clay creations.  This set is recommended for ages 3 and up so everyone in our family can enjoy it.

Inside our box of Hey Clay Bugs.

There are 10 bright colors of air-dry clay in 18 small cans.

There are 3 pink, 2 dark green, 1 orange, 3 red, 1 light green, 2 blue, 2 purple, 1 white and 3 black.  I love the vibrancy of the colors.  Of course, you can also create your own colors by mixing the above colors together creating even more options.

Hey Clay is soft and stretchy!

Hey Clay is soft and stretchy and even a bit spongy feeling.  It's also bright and light weight.  This modeling clay is fun to hold and work with.  It is not super sticky so it won't stick to hands or other objects.  It's also nontoxic and both wheat and gluten-free.

Hey Clay Bugs App

Here you see the 6-eyed spider, caterpillar, praying mantis, snail, ladybird (ladybug) and dragonfly.

There is a free App but you will have to pay for or use a code to unlock the instructions for all six bug characters - snail, dragonfly, ladybird or ladybug, spider, mantis and caterpillar.  The snail instructions are free to everyone.  The Hey Clay Bugs set comes with a code for the App.  This App is really great because it gives you detailed step-by-step directions on how to build the bugs - what colors to use, what shape to make, how to press and mold each shape, where to place it, etc.  I love that the instructions are easy to follow and help the kids make creations that they can be proud of.

Here you can see the mantis instructions are locked.

Inside the mantis instructions after entering our code.  You only have to enter the code once to instantly have access to all the instructions.

A was the first one to use our clay and she made the snail.

I love how intently F is watching.

Adding the pupils to the eyes.

A's finished snail.

I thought it looked fun so I jumped in and made a baby snail to go along with A's snail.

After we made our snail creations we let them air-dry.  The air-drying process takes about 24 hours and once complete, your creations are ready to display or even play with!  The creations become harder but not rock hard if that makes sense.  They are still somewhat pliable.

C made the spider next!

 Here is a peek inside the App.  It shows you exactly how to make these legs.

 

C's spider at this point.

 Voila!  C's finished 6-eyed spider.

 And a close-up...

 F and I made the caterpillar together.  He came out so cute!

 D made the ladybird or ladybug on her own.

And a close-up...

 C also made a praying mantis.

Front View

B made the Dragonfly.

If you can't tell, the kids and I are huge fans of Hey Clay Bugs.  It helps encourage fine motor skills and strengthen creativity and artistic ability.  I love that the clay creations don't have to be perfect and can show a lot of personality in their imperfections.  I also want you to know that after creating all six bug characters, there is still plenty of clay left over for your own creations.  As I mentioned previously, your creations need to air-dry for about 24 hours and then they are ready for display or play.  The kids created a game called Bugville using our new friends - how exciting!

A glimpse of Bugville

There are a variety of other Hey Clay sets available including aliens, birds, animals, monsters and dinos.  How fun!  These kits are great additions for your budding artists and would also make awesome gifts.

The only thing that I personally would change about this kit is the name.  Of course, the kids do not agree with me at all - they love the name just as it is.  To each their own I guess 😃.  I think it is the zoologist in me!  Snails are really mollusks not bugs and spiders are really arachnids.  Although, the spider doesn't really bother me as much because most people truly think of them as bugs.  It's really the snail that seems out of place to me.  If it were me, I would change the name of this kit to Hey Clay Invertebrates - just my two cents!

Hey Clay Bugs is part of Timberdoodle's 4th Grade Curriculum Kit.

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  Timberdoodle sent my family the Hey Clay Bugs in exchange for our honest review.  All opinions are my own.