Bonus Activity: DIY Giant Bubble Blower {Bubble Week}

By Deborah Pace Rowley & Tiffany Rudd

I hope you've enjoyed all the fun bubble activities this week! We really tried, but couldn't come up with a decent Parenting Tip post even remotely related to bubbles.

So, lucky you...you get a bonus activity post this week! And, this one was an absolute hit at our open house last week.

Giant bubbles! And I mean seriously giant bubbles. And with very few supplies and a few minutes work you can make some too.

Giant bubbles originally happend at our house thanks to this kit grandma bought for the kids. It isn't super spendy, but it is also incredibly easy to make one for yourself for $1 or so.

 Supplies Needed:

• Dowel rod. It doesn't have to be very thick and 3 feet or so should be plenty long.
• Two pieces of yarn. Cut one to 18 inches and the other to 60 inches (5 feet).
• Two rubber bands. We used one thick and one thin, but whatever you have should work fine. 

How To Make a Giant Bubble Blower:

1. Tie one end of your long string and one end of your short string to the end of the dowel rod. So, both strings are tied to the the dowel rod in the same place. Wow, this is much harder to explain than it is to do. :)

2. Put the free end of the long string through a rubber band. We used the bigger rubber band here. The string should NOT be tied to the rubber band, just be going through the middle. This rubber band hangs loose to cause tension in the long string. 

3. I just realized we didn't take a picture of this last step. Let's hope I can explain it well enough!

Put the dowel rod through the second rubber band. Tie both loose ends of string to the rubber band. Do not tie these ends of string to the dowel rod or wrap the rubber band tightly around the rod. The rubber band and strings should be able to slide loosely along the rod. 

Here is a picture of the finished giant bubble blower. 

How to Use Your Giant Bubble Blower: 

1. Slide the rubber band to the end of the rod so that both loops of string hang straight down.

2. Submerge all of the string in Best Ever Bubble Solution (see recipe below). Pull it back out and let the excess drip a little.

3. Now slowly pull back on the elastic to separate the strings. See that bubble forming in the middle? Exciting stuff!

 4. Now just move the rod so air forces that giant bubble out!

 5. There it is! Wahoo!

6. While the bubble is still forming, slide the elastic back toward the other strings at the end of the rod. This will close the bubble and allow it to float away. Awesome!

If you haven't already written down this bubble recipe, or clicked HERE to print it off, I highly recommend it. It is definitely the best I've ever used. Use the glycerin or corn syrup when preparing solution for giant bubbles and give it plenty of time to sit. 

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Elementary Activities: Foamerators {Bubble Week!}

By Deborah Pace Rowley & Tiffany Rudd

One of the favorite activities at our Friday Fun Open House was a simple contraption called a foamerator. What a cool name, right? FOAMERATOR. It's fun to use, and fun to say. :) You probably have the supplies around the house right now, so definitely give this one a try!

Supplies You Need:

• Water Bottle - We've found that it needs to be a slightly more expensive bottle. The super thin ones that usually come in big cases aren't sturdy enough to hold up to the rubber band. These Propel bottles worked great, so did Aquafina brand. 
• Wash cloth or a piece of an old towel big enough to fit over the bottom of the water bottle.
• Rubber band

Instructions for making a Foamerator:

1. Cut the bottom off the water bottle with a good pair of scissors. It doesn't really matter how close to the bottom you cut it.
2. Cover the hole at the bottom with your wash cloth or towel.
3. Wrap the rubber band around the wash cloth to hold it in place. It needs to be tight enough that the towel won't fall off and air won't get through the sides. 

Now just dip the wash cloth into bubble solution (see our recipe below) and blow through the opening at the top. I wish this picture was a better one, you won't believe the huge foam snakes these make. As an added bonus, the fine bubble foam sticks around and is super fun to play with!

Click on the recipe below for a printable version.

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Preschool Activities: Bubble Wand Testing {Bubble Week!}

By Deborah Rowley & Tiffany Rudd

Have you ever wondered if you could blow bubbles through a comb, a pair of scissors, or an old dvd? Now you can find out! :)

This simple bubble activity is not only fun, it will get your child predicting outcomes and testing his/her hypothesis (guess). Great skills for any future scientist.

All you need to do is print the bubble wand testing page below and gather some household items. My list includes: fork, spatula, whisk, comb, slotted spoon, spaghetti spoon, apple slicer, cheese grater, scissors, spoon, hair brush, hair elastic, paper clip, old dvd, potato masher, and a cookie cutter. I've included both this one filled out with all the household items we tested and a blank one if you'd like to choose items of your own.

You'll need to help you child with predicting and filling out the record sheet. Have your child predict or guess if a certain item will work and mark yes or no. Then let him/her test it out and mark the correct answer. This is a great activity for some higher-level thinking too. Ask your child to look at the items that worked and the items that didn't work and explain to you what they think makes a good bubble blower.  

Oh, and don't forget your bubble solution. Here is the awesome recipe we use. For this activity you can skip the glycerin or corn syrup. Just water and dish soap will work fine.

Click HERE to print the bubble wand testing page!

Click HERE to print the bubble solution recipe!

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Toddler Activities: Rainbow Bubble Blow {Bubble Week!}

By Deborah Pace Rowley & Tiffany Rudd

If we're being honest, this activity started out being a slight fail on our part. We'd heard that you could add food coloring to a big pile of bubbles and the color would stay creating a fun rainbow effect. Not so much. :) This apparently only works with tiny bubbles which aren't created when you blow into bubble water through a straw. No worries though, the kids still loved this activity! The little ones were thrilled with the huge piles of bubbles they could create and play with and the older kids even created some games of their own. Plus, you can see a rainbow in the surface of every bubble! 

All you need for this activity is a high-sided tin or tray of some kind, bubble solution, and a straw. Just put a layer of bubble solution in the bottom of the tray and let your little one get blowing!

Tip: If you cut a tiny slit toward the bottom of the straw your child will still be able to blow through it, but it will be harder to suck anything up. This helps avoid a nasty mouthful of soap!

Note: For this activity we just mixed dawn and water, no glycerin or corn syrup needed.

Adaptations for older kids:

Bubble Race! Time the bubble blowers and see who can create the biggest pile of bubbles first.

Team Bubble Blow! These three cute girls pushed all their trays together and created a seriously huge pile of bubbles to play in. 

Click HERE to print the bubble solution recipe.

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Mealtime Activities: Magic Bubble Recipe {Bubble Week!}

By: Deborah Pace Rowley 

During our bubble activity last week we used a boatload of bubble solution! When you are using regular bubble wands, a solution of dish soap and water works great. But when you are making giant bubbles or Boo bubbles, a little stronger bubble solution is needed. Here is our foolproof big bubble recipe (Click on the recipe to print your own copy). You can find glycerin in the Pharmacy section of stores like Walmart or you can just use the corn syrup that you have at home. It really does work better the longer that it sits out. Make it ahead of time and let it sit uncovered for 24 hours or longer. 

The pictures in this post show the Boo Bubbles we made at the open house. This is normally not an activity that we would feature on our blog because it requires a more expensive container that I purchased at the Steve Spangler Science website. www.stevespanglerscience.com/product/boo-bubbles 

But Boo Bubbles are so awesome that I couldn’t resist. (FYI: I love this web site. It has great ideas for awesome science experiments. Many of them you can do with items you have at home and do not require purchasing something extra from their site.) 

Once you have purchased this special jar and tubing for around $25.00, all you need to do is add warm water, the magic bubble solution, and dry ice. Then you can make hundreds of fog-filled bubbles that you can bounce on your glove-covered hands. How cool is that! 

Adults and kids alike were completely enthralled and couldn’t get enough of playing with these fun Boo Bubbles. But even if you don’t want to get a Boo Bubble machine, you will find lots of other uses for our bubble solution on the blog this coming week. Stay tuned for my favorite post where Tiff shows you how to build your own giant bubble wand. You will be amazed how simple, easy, and cheap it is. And it kept the kids entertained for hours!

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