At the stage of preschool age, it is impossible to find such a kid who would not make regular attempts to draw on something, even despite the noticeable discontent of the parents. Perhaps in the future the child will resist attempts to draw regularly and under the dictation of the teacher, many will completely abandon their childhood hobby, but now, at the very early stage of development, such an activity for a small child is both exciting and very useful.
Fine motor skills and color perception, imagination and perseverance - these are just some of the useful skills and abilities that a child acquires by drawing.
To speed up the acquisition of all these skills in full, as well as to save wallpaper and furniture that are not intended for such purposes, you should purchase a special easel for your baby, especially if you get the impression that the child will not abandon drawing. If we talk about choosing a specific model, you should definitely pay attention to products under the Nika Kids brand.
Features:
The children's easel Nika Kids, as it should be for similar products, is actually focused on broader developmental goals than just drawing. Moreover, the manufacturer pays great attention to the issues of the baby's convenience, since the child is unlikely to make serious sacrifices in his own comfort, even for the greatest goals.
The first moment that worries parents acutely is safety.... Easels of this brand, regardless of the model, do not contain any components that can release toxic fumes into the environment. The main part of the structure is made of a fairly light, but at the same time durable and reliable metal alloy, decorated with corners made of safe plastic.
The design of each model necessarily assumes the highest stability, due to which the baby, being, as a rule, significantly lower than his easel, is simply unable to overturn the product. This ensures that the easel never falls on its owner.
The overall picture is complemented by paint of natural origin, which adds attractiveness to the appearance of the easel, but at the same time creates a special, scratch-resistant coating.
Although the name of such a product is intended solely for drawing, in fact it can be considered a complete learning board, which surpasses some blackboards in its capabilities. Many models are double-sided: one of them is used as an ordinary board available for drawing with crayons, while the other is made of metal for the purpose of placing magnetic letters and numbers on it.
If desired, you can also attach classic art supplies such as drawing paper to the easel. For storage of any drawing accessories, a special pencil case is adapted, located below the board.
By the way, the side designed for the use of magnets is assumed by the manufacturer itself for very active use: he himself specially completes many models with metal magnetic letters and numbers. This addition allows the kid to gradually begin to learn to read and write before he has mastered the mechanical side of the process. To speed up the mastery of the account, special accounts are also provided, located below, between the pencil case and the easel.
Naturally, it would be difficult to demand full development from the kid with the help of such an easel, if it did not assume comfortable use. The main problem with almost any children's furniture is that it usually does not know how to adapt to a constantly growing owner. However, the Nika Kids easel is a pleasant exception to the rule, because its height can be adjusted from 75 to 110 centimeters.
One of these provisions will certainly turn out to be convenient not only for a preschool child, but also for a primary school student who has not yet given up drawing, choosing him as his favorite pastime of his whole life. Such convenient height adjustment options prevent the occurrence of various diseases of the musculoskeletal system, primarily scoliosis.
Kinds
As befits any self-respecting manufacturer, this brand offers a wide range of easel models. However, in fairness, it should be said that at first glance they are all almost the same - differences are immediately evident, except in color. Moreover, the designation of names is usually an alphanumeric combination, which is not very helpful for memorization, so it is easiest to focus on characteristics.
Most popular model M2 itself suggests various modifications. Other designations, such as "Traffic Light" or "Ship", are more related to colors, and to a lesser extent - to certain design features.
It should be noted that traditionally easel Nika Kids - growing. This means that it allows the height of the work surface to be adjusted as its little owner grows.
Parents are also accustomed to believing that the easel of this company is always two-sided, but occasionally there is also a one-sided version. The first, of course, is in priority, its second name is magnetic marker, since different sides of the board are designed to use the mentioned different means for drawing and composing.
At the same time, the board also involves fixing paper on it (the same magnetic letters and numbers from the kit are perfect for this); you can also expand the range of drawing supplies by using watercolors with gouache. In order for everything you need to fit and always be at hand, you should choose models with a large pencil case - it fits this description for all Nika Kids easels, but its dimensions still differ slightly.
If the easel is purchased with an orientation towards constant drawing with paints, it will not be superfluous to look for a model, complete with cup holders.
Most of the easel models of this company assume a design with accounts, but occasionally there are exceptions that do not contain such a bonus. On the one hand, an easel designed for artistic needs does not need such an addition, on the other hand, when it comes to children, parents would probably want to make the most of developing furniture.
In this situation, it remains to recommend not to abandon the models in which there are abacus, and try to choose the color solution in which the abacus is as beautiful and bright as possible, because this is the only way to provoke a stable interest from the baby.
Specifications
The materials used to make the Nika Kids easel are quite diverse - there are metal, plastic, magnet, and even laminated fiberboard. This variety allows for the different creative and educational possibilities of the product, while keeping it light enough. Even fully packed, such a purchase weighs no more than 5 kg, and at home its weight is completely limited to a modest 2.5 kg, which allows you to freely transport such furniture around the house, even take it with you on a visit.
The dimensions, in spite of the seemingly large dimensions, when packed, with proper packing, also turn out to be quite compact - at least for transportation by a private car. The height of the box is 78 cm, width - 55, but the thickness is only 9 cm. Such a structure can easily fit into the trunk.
It should be noted that most of this size is due to the creative needs of the child himself, because the area of the working surface is 53 by 47 cm.
The standard set of the easel includes a large selection of magnetic Russian letters, numbers, punctuation marks and even mosaics, which offers consumers another unusual drawing opportunity. It should be clarified that the kit does not include many components that would seem very logical for such an easel - for example, the same drawing crayons or markers. However, it will not be difficult to buy them in any nearest store.
Certain discrepancies arise when it comes to the age for which such easels are relevant. You can find opinions that the minimum age for use is both one and a half years, and as many as three. There are also indications of the maximum age - supposedly such easels are logical to use for children's development up to the age of six.
In fact, it would be fair to start not from some instructions, but from the banal convenience of the child, because it is important that such a workplace is convenient and interesting for him.
In this regard, one and a half year old seems too early to start (it is not a fact that the baby will reach the board), and six years can not be limited if the child likes to draw with paints and it will be convenient to continue using Nika Kids for artistic purposes only.
At the same time, the use of such an easel as the main one for serious drawing lessons, even at primary school age, is not considered the most successful move - and the adjustment of the position of the tablet is insufficient here, and the aesthetic effect of an accessory that is too childish can discourage a child from creativity.
In order to interest the little ones, the manufacturer has made sure that his products have a bright and attractive design. Most models assume a solid color, such as blue, orange or lilac.
If desired, you can choose a multi-color option, in particular, "Traffic Light" involves the use of red, yellow and green in the color scheme.
Quality reviews
The easels produced by the Nika Kidsc brand are by no means the only ones of their kind - even among Russian companies there are competitors that produce very similar goods. In this regard, it is of great importance for parents to make the right choice in favor of this or that brand, so that the money is not wasted.
It should be noted that according to its main characteristics, the easel from Nika Kids can be called an excellent purchase, since all models have very sophisticated creative possibilities, allowing the child to master drawing techniques by various artistic means, along the way improving their mathematical abilities and learning to read.
The safety and convenience of this manufacturer is also at the level, and adults can not be afraid for their baby, because he is not threatened by either a fall of the structure from above, or the development of any diseases of the musculoskeletal system. Among other things, the product is lightweight and compact, thanks to which it can be used not only at home, but also on a visit, and even in nature. The variety of colors only complements the list of advantages of such a purchase, which can fit into absolutely any interior.
It would seem that with such a list of advantages, there is no point in doubting - any thinking parents should immediately purchase such developing furniture for their child. However, not everything is so simple, because other manufacturers, including the main Russian competitor DEMI, offer approximately similar properties of their products. In this situation, parents have no choice but to compare prices and quality.
At first glance, the cost of Nika Kids products seems quite affordable - at least in comparison with foreign counterparts, it remains only to find out the degree of quality of such a product.
Perhaps you should not be too categorical in criticizing this brand, but there are reviews that clearly testify: the Nika Kids easel is still not the best thing to buy for your own children. Some consumers with experience of purchasing such products, mercilessly criticize it, pointing out the incompatibility of the average price with a very mediocre quality.
It would be fair to clarify that not all consumers leave such criticism, and it is not a fact that it applies to all models and every instance, and yet such information should not be ignored.
First of all, complaints are caused by the quality of the work surface that is designed for drawing with crayons. The manufacturer himself does not include any specific "recommended for use" crayons in the kit, but even the soft chalk varieties leave scratches on the surface of such a board. Obviously, any surface wears out over time, but critics point out: negative phenomena are noticeable within a few days after purchase!
Moreover, there may be problems with the occurrence of streaks remaining after using chalk - it can be difficult to remove them with an ordinary sponge.
A similar problem is observed with the other side - a whiteboard designed to use markers. Even water-based markers, which are as easy as possible to remove from any surface, wipe off such a board very poorly, leaving numerous streaks. You can wipe them off by increasing the pressure on the sponge, but this approach leads to accelerated damage to the board, which is literally wiped off in places of particularly intense friction.
However, consumers themselves offer a solution to this problem, which consists in not using new, just purchased markers to draw on such a board. On the other hand, it is not always convenient to purchase a marker in order to first paint it on paper for a long time before a child can draw with it on a specially purchased easel.
Consumer disappointment is also caused by the lack of concern on the part of the manufacturer, who did not want to complete their products with the necessary drawing tools, in order to at least show an example of which crayons or markers are suitable for the coating used. Moreover, although the kit includes magnetic letters, numbers and mosaics, they are initially sold as separate figures and magnets, and parents themselves must insert the magnetic cores into the figures themselves.
Although this procedure is not complex, it is still quite time-consuming, given the number of components offered, whereas the manufacturer could have used a machine method for such an assembly.
What to consider when choosing?
Buying any children's easel, be it Nika Kids or any other company, should be a reasonable step on the part of the parents. When choosing such an easel, you need to consider several important factors, including:
- How suitable is such a gift for a baby. Many parents at this moment urgently begin to look for references to the recommended age in the instructions, but it is worth thinking more about convenience. It must be remembered that the easel in no case should contribute to the development of diseases of the musculoskeletal system in a child, which means that the baby must grow at least to the point that the minimum height of the easel (which is 75 centimeters) is comfortable for him.
Some also point to the psychological aspect of development, but child psychologists say that drawing is useful at any age, even if this process cannot yet be called deliberate.
- Whether this easel is the best of its kind should be taken into account not so much an objective point of view as pursuing your own subjective goals. As a rule, easels like Nika Kids are purchased by those parents who intend to use it fully, however, no purchase for a child should have duplicate or unnecessary functions. In particular, if the baby already has abacus in one form or another, they may be simply unnecessary on the easel, adding weight and cost to the product in vain. Choosing Nika Kids, consumers should clearly understand why they preferred this particular option, and not analogs.
- As stated above, most parents are satisfied with this purchase, but there are also those who are completely disappointed. It is possible that damage to a new easel in a matter of days is the result of completely incorrectly selected means for drawing, and then only the consumer is to blame. Parents cannot be sure in advance that nothing like this will happen to them. There are cases when an easel from Nika Kids irreversibly fell into disrepair within a few days after purchase, so it is worthwhile to stock up on confidence in your own ability to properly use it in advance.
For an overview of the easel "Nick M2 growing", see the next video.
