Who doesn’t love bubbles? Bubbles are great for kids of all ages. Riley has recently taken an interest in popping the bubbles! Here is a simple three ingredient bubble solution!
Materials
- 1 cup water
- 3 Tablespoons dish soap
- 1-2 Tablespoons Glycerin or Corn Syrup
- Mixing Bowl
- Spoon or whisk for mixing
- Storage container with lid to keep the bubble solution in
- Bubble wand or bubble blowing machine
Directions:
- Add together the three ingredients to the mixing bowl and mix until well blended.
- Store the bubble solution in a sealed container.
Activities:
Chase and Pop!
- Encourage your child to chase after the bubbles and pop them before they touch the ground!
- For your little ones, don’t forget to use key words and phrases as they are playing for their language development such as chase, run, pop, bubbles. Did you know repetition is so important for language development? Try to pick a key word to repeat at least five times during the activity for your young toddler who is learning to speak. See if they will try to repeat that word back to you at some point in the activity!
Floor is Lava!
- Encourage your kids to keep the bubbles from touching the ground using whatever strategy they can think of. Which strategies are the most effective?
Bubble Magic!
- This is a great activity for older kids. I have done this as a science unit with my Kindergartners in the past.
- Give your child their own bubble wand (a straw). Be sure to emphasize the importance of only blowing out. We don’t want to suck in any bubble solution! This isn’t a straw but a bubble wand so it works differently! Be sure to practice only blowing out before introducing the bubble solution. Also, don’t forget to remind them that the side they put in their mouth needs to be the same every time. We don’t want to switch the straw around in the middle of play and get a mouthful of bubble solution.
- Tell your child the secret of bubbles is that they like wet surfaces. That means that if your hand is wet with either water or bubble solution the bubbles can stick to your hand! You can hold a bubble!
- When you are ready to start, get the surface wet with bubble solution. It doesn’t have to be a lot, you just want the surface to not be dry. Your child should also do the same with their hands. They can dip their hands in the bubble solution that you poured onto the surface. We don’t want them to play to much with the solution on the surface as this will make the bubble solution turn foamy. Foam boo, bubbles yeah!
- Next have your child dip the bubble end of their wand into the solution. They should gently blow into their wand to make a bubble form on the table or on their hand. Remind them to get their finger wet before trying to gently touch the bubble.
- Can they touch the bubble without popping it?
- Can they blow bubbles into the palm of their hand?
- Can they blow a bubble inside of a bubble by sticking their bubble wand inside a bubble?
- Can they blow a bubble on top of another bubble?
- How many bubbles can they blow and have touching each other before they begin popping?
- If you make a fist around the end of your bubble wand, can you blow bubbles out of your fist?
- The more bubbles you blow together can change the shape of the bubbles. What shapes can you see?
- Grab some string and tie it to make a big circle. If you dip that in the bubble solution, can you make a bubble window? Can you lift that bubble window up and down to make a bubble form?
- If you dip both hands in the bubble solution, can you blow a bubble from your hands?
Benefits
- Language Development: As you talk with your child about what they are doing and creating, you are expanding their vocabulary, receptive language, and expressive language.
- Early Science exploration: These activities will excite your child’s curiosity and wonder. Your older children may start asking questions such as how or why.
- Gross Motor Skills: Your child is getting up and active as they chase, pop, and keep bubbles from touching the ground.
- Cause and Effect: Your child is experimenting with cause and effect as they pop bubbles and try to blow bubbles. They are learning how hard is too hard for blowing a bubble, what happens when they touch a bubble with dry hands vs. wet hands.
