The cogs in the kit go round and round! (ELC Spiral Art)

Name: kingfisher111

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Product:	ELC Spiral Art
Date:	01/07/07 (132 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: makes fun and interesting patterns

Disadvantages: difficult for young children to use

It was recently my daughter's 4th birthday and as she seems to have been showing some great artistic tendencies, I was on the look out for something which was very arty and she would enjoy. I stumbled across Spiral Art in the Early Learning Centre and was immediately reminded of Spirograph which I knew and loved as a child! As the age range was between three and ten years I decided that she would have to have it!

The Spiral Art kit comes in a reasonably sized box and contains 1 outer frame, five inner frames, four felt pens, six cogs, twenty sheets of paper and, most important of all, a set of instructions! The frames are all made of fairly sturdy plastic and so are the cogs. The paper is A4 size and it is slightly disappointing to find this bent, because the paper size is bigger than the box.

My daughter was very excited when she saw her new Spiral Art and wanted to get going straight away! It wasn't too difficult to follow the instructions and put the frames together. The way it works is that you choose your inner frame first (which can be either circle, oval or a funny shaped squashed oval!) and then you fit the outer frame over this to keep it secure. I was a bit disappointed with this because there is nothing to secure the outer frame in place so it does not take much to move it slightly which has an effect on your spiral. You have to hold it down quite firmly which is quite difficult for an adult but virtually impossible for a four year old child!

If you remember Spirograph you will have a fair idea how Spiral Art works. You have a number of small cogs with serrated edges. These fit into the serrated edges of the inner frame. Each cog has a number of different small holes just big enough to place the tip of the pen in. You then very carefully use the pen in order to move the cog around the inner frame.If you do this successfully, you will create some fantastic spiral patterns - in fact the possibilities are virtualy endless when you think of all the different combinations of cogs, frames, holes and colours! My daughter was amazed when she saw the different patterns that could be created!

I do think there is a problem for her though! As she is only four, the whole act of manipulating pen and cog around the frame is quite difficult for her and as a consequence the cog often jumps out of place. Once this happens it is very difficult to continue with the same spiral pattern and the effect is lost. It is also quite difficult for her to keep the outer frame still so she really does need an adult with her to help her - and as a fiercely independent four year old she often actually wants to be able to do it for herself! So although I do like the Spiral Art set, I think that to label it as suitable for three to ten year olds is a bit misleading. I should more imagine that children will really start to take off with this more around the age of six and above, so I suspect ours might be put away in a cupboard for a couple of years! That's no big deal, but I don't think I would have bought it for her at this time had I realised how difficult it would be for her!

Having said that though, I do still think that it is a good little art kit. As far as I can tell, all children love these neat little spirals and there are lots of suggestions on the box for how you can take these designs further and create pictures and cards. So although slightly disappointed at the moment, I feel sure that in the near future my daughter will really enjoy using this set!

At the moment it sells in the Early Learning Centre for the cost of £8.

Summary: A fun art kit!