By Diana Barnett, Director of Dutilh Preschool
Who doesn’t love blowing and popping bubbles? Summer is the best time for this fun-but-messy activity.
Although your preschoolers may be playing with bubbles, they will also be working on important developmental skills. A few examples are:
- Sensory processing skills – Some preschoolers do not like to get messy or touch different textures. They may be more likely to touch the wet, slippery bubble mixture in a fun activity.
- Fine motor skills – Holding the bubble wands, blowing into bubble blowers, and popping the bubbles in different ways (clap the bubble between two hands, poke with one finger or “grab” the bubble with one hand) help to develop these skills.
- Gross motor skills – Running with or waving the bubble wand to create bubbles helps preschoolers practice gross motor skills. They can also run, jump, reach on tiptoe, stomp, or squat to pop bubbles.
Below are an easy bubble recipe and a few things to do with bubbles:
BUBBLE RECIPE
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup dish soap (blue Dawn works well)
- 1/4 cup light corn syrup
Stir water and corn syrup together. Slowly stir in the dish soap. You don’t want to make it too foamy.
Experiment with using different objects to blow bubbles.
- Plastic cup: Punch or cut a hole in the bottom to blow through
- Plastic soft drink bottles: Cut the bottom off the bottle
- Pipe cleaners. They can twist into different shapes and sizes.
- Plastic funnel
- Drinking straw
- String and straw wands. These can make BIG bubbles.
How to make string and straw wands:
- Thread some string through 2 straight straws.
- Tie the ends together and slide the knot inside a straw.
- Hold up the two straws spreading the string evenly between them.
- To make bubbles:
- Hold the straws side by side and dip the whole thing into the bubble mix. Then as you pull the straws up out of the mix, slowly pull the straws apart. Then the wind does the rest.
- To close the bubble, slowly move the straws back together.
Bubble Snakes
- Empty water bottle
- Cotton sock or washcloth
- Dish soap and water
- Rubber bands
Cut the bottle in half. Place the sock or washcloth over the cut end of the bottle. Hold the material in place with the rubber bands. Dip the material end of the bottle in a shallow dish filled with dish soap and water mixture. Blow on the mouth part of the bottle to create your bubble snake. You can make a colorful snake by adding a few drops of food coloring to the material.
Dutilh Church 