Bubbles for kids – six fast and fun activities

Kids blowing bubbles – it’s amazing how something so simple can deliver so much fun and laughter. But did you know this humble activity is part of the toolkit for many therapists working with children?

The combination of water and soap, paired with a bubble wand, makes a fun therapy resource that’s inexpensive, easy and ultra-versatile.

Why kids and bubbles are a perfect pair

You don’t need to be a therapist for your kids to benefit from bubble activities. Most children of all ages love bubbles.

Bubbles for kids are a great tool for:

• supporting relationship building – as kids interact with you, their siblings or their friends
• developing language – kids can learn new words and describe what they’re doing
• practising social skills – by enjoying bubble activities with others
• providing sensory play opportunities
• developing fine and gross motor skills – like holding the bubble container while manipulating the wand
• establishing hand preference
• encouraging play skills.

Here’s six easy bubble activities to try at home:

Here’s some simple activities to help your child get more from a fun bubble activity session.

1. Blowing bubbles – blowing bubbles teaches children to coordinate limb movements, oral motor skills, and breathing to generate the bubbles. Once children can blow bubbles normally, you could challenge them to blow giant bubbles by blowing slowly and with control. This supports the development of breath control.

2. Popping bubbles – most children enjoy popping bubbles. This is a good time to demonstrate and practise counting them. Doing this regularly supports their learning about numbers and counting.
   
   
3. Catching bubbles – using the wands to catch bubbles challenges the coordination of limbs and control of force in the bubble capture. After catching one, you could teach body parts by modelling popping bubbles on different parts of the body. Children often enjoy popping bubbles with their mouth or nose!
   
   
4. Taking turns – introduce turn-taking using bubbles by having the people involved take turns blowing and catching.
   
   
5. Commenting – commenting on your actions when playing with bubbles can be useful in supporting a child’s language development. So many new vocabulary words can be incorporated in a bubble activity, such as blow, stop, more, bubbles, catch, pop, and finish. Commenting while doing an action or pointing something out helps a child learn the meaning of the word. Keeping your phrases consistent will help your child remember the new words.
   
   
6. Interaction – give your child the opportunity to interact/communicate with you during the activity! Take a pause from blowing to allow your child to look at you, or to ask for more bubbles. If he or she doesn’t know how to, show them by using a word or gesture (such as a key word sign) before blowing.

Most of all, have fun while you’re doing it. Smile, laugh! It helps your child have a positive experience with you.

DIY bubbles

Making bubbles for your kids is easy. You’ll need:

• 1 cup of quality dishwashing liquid
• 6 cups of water
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 3-4 drops of glycerine.

Mix the ingredients together well, then store the liquid in an air-tight container. The bubble mix improves with age!

Bright ideas for more bubble fun

• Divide your DIY bubble mix into separate containers and add different food colourings for rainbow bubbles!
• Add different scents for smelly bubbles
• Add some glitter for super-sparkly bubbles
• Try making bubble wands in various shapes by bending pipe cleaners eg hearts, squares, ovals.
• Make bubble wands out of kitchen utensils such as egg flips, whisks or by bending pipe cleaners around cookie cutters.

Discover more easy, fun activities to keep your kids occupied at home in our News section.

To find out more about how our qualified and experienced therapists can help your child reach their potential, check our allied health services page.

Telehealth appointments are available.

Get in touch on 1800 436 436 or SEND US A MESSAGE