Bubbles, Bubbles Everywhere

As the weather is starting to get warmer here, the kids are really starting to get antsy about going outside more. One fun activity that you can do with your child outside this spring is blowing bubbles. I don't know what it is about children and bubbles, but most children love bubbles. It doesn't matter if the bubbles are in a sink full of dishes or floating around outside, children just can't get enough time to play with them. There are several benefits to blowing bubbles, too, besides just being fun. The act of blowing bubbles helps to strengthen mouth muscles that are used for speech and it's great for teaching children breathing techniques to use when they are stressed.

Here is a recipe to make bubble solution with ingredients you probably already have at home.

Bubbly Bubbles for  One

5 tbsp water
4 tbsp Dawn dishwashing liquid
1 tbsp of light corn syrup

Bubbly Bubbles for More

6 c. water

2 c. Dawn dishwashing liquid

3/4 c. light corn syrup

For best results, mix all the ingredients together in a sealable plastic container five days before you plan to use them. 

Some fun items to use for blowing bubbles besides the little plastic wands that come with the store-bought bubble solutions are

-cookie cutters

-plastic embroidery hoops

-plastic drinking straws

-mesh flyswatters

-uncooked wagon wheel pasta or rigatoni

-plastic funnels

-different size spools

-squares of plastic needlepoint canvas

-squares of plastic mesh produce bag

-plastic sunglasses (with the lenses removed)

-pipe cleaners bent to form a wand

If you want to try making some really big bubbles, get a plastic kiddie pool and pour bubble solution into it until it's about 2-3 inches deep. Then use a hula hoop as your wand and watch as the children's eyes get about as big as the bubbles.

Another fun activity to do with bubbles is to add food coloring to the bubble solution and make bubble prints. You may want them in old clothes or paint smocks before they start blowing with these bubbles, though. Attach a large piece of white paper to a wall or easel. Lay a drop cloth on the floor to protect it from getting colored. Then let the children use the different colored bubble solutions to blow bubbles at the paper. When the bubbles pop against the paper they leave a fun, colored bubble print behind. 

What other fun objects can you find around the house that would work to use with the bubble solution? 

Favorite Play-dough recipe

I received this recipe for play-dough several years ago when I was taking my oldest daughter to Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) classes when she was about two years old. It has been my go to recipe ever since. I love the consistency of it and it tends to last for a very long time. When it comes to play-dough the ideas of what can be created with it are limitless and only restricted by your child's imagination. Not only is it fun to play with but it also works as a great stress reliever and helps strengthen the muscles in your hands.

Cooked Play-dough

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 tbsp cream or tarter
1 cup water
1 tbsp vegetable oil

1. Put the dry ingredients in a saucepan and mix well. Add wet ingredients to saucepan and mix well, again.
2. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until it forms a ball. The dough is ready when the mixture begins to pull away from the sides and when the wet parts begin to look dry. Do not overcook the play-dough or it will become very grainy feeling.
3. Turn the dough onto your counter and knead it until smooth. It will be quite warm to the touch at first, so be careful.
4. Add food coloring, glitter, extracts, etc. after the dough has cooled.
5. Store in an airtight container or bag. If you are in an area of high humidity, storing it in the refrigerator will help it last longer. It will usually last a couple months. It is time to toss when the play-dough starts looking dry and crusty or when it gets very sticky and gooey.

This recipe will yield enough play-dough to make about 3 tennis ball to baseball size balls of play-dough. So it is enough for several children to share or make it into different colors. When I make it for the classroom, I usually double the recipe so I have enough for six children to play with it at a time.

I really like to use the gel food coloring that comes in a squeeze bottle to color my play-dough because of all the different colors you can get (and I use it exclusively in my cake decorating). You can find it at your local craft store like Michael's and Hobby Lobby or order it online through many baking websites. Since it is so concentrated a little bit usually goes a long way. So start out with a small amount and add more as needed. It will also get darker after it sits for a little while.

If you choose to add glitter, you'll need A LOT of it. This is a situation where a lot of glitter goes only a little way.

Some themed play-dough ideas I have used in the past or plan to use are:
Snow-light blue with silver glitter
Chocolate-brown with chocolate extract
St. Patrick's-green with mint extract & gold glitter
Space-Navy with multi-colored glitter
Easter-pastel colors
Rainbow-red, orange, yellow, green, blue & purple with matching glitter
Patriotic-red, white & blue with silver glitter
Beach-white and add play sand instead of glitter
Apple pie-1/2 white with apple pie seasoning or cinnamon and 1/2  red
Pumpkin pie-1/2 white with pumpkin pie seasoning and 1/2 orange
Candy cane-1/2 red  and 1/2 white with peppermint extract
Watermelon-pink or red scented with watermelon extract, green and a small amount of black

Here are just a few fun accessories you could provide for children to use when working with play-dough.
-Popsicle sticks
-Tongue depressors
-Toothpicks
-Cookie cutters
-Lengths of dowel (1" wide or larger)
-Garlic press
-Potato ricer
-Dull knives
-Small containers
-Caps from jars & bottles
-Straws
-Small rolling pins
-Forks
-Small rubber animals
-Pipe cleaners

What other fun themed play-dough ideas can you come up with? What additional items can you think of that children can use with their play-dough?

I Love to Read Month

10 Reasons to Read to Your Child
1. Because when you hold them and give them this attention, they know you love them.
2. Because reading to them will encourage them to become readers.
3. Because children's books today are so good that they are fun, even for adults.
4. Children's books' illustrations often rank with the best, giving them a lifelong feeling for good art.
5. Books are one way of passing on your moral values to them. Readers know how to put themselves in others' shoes.
6. Because, until they learn to read themselves, they will think you are magic.
7. Because every teacher and librarian they ever encounter will thank you.
8. Because it's nostalgic.
9. Because, for that short space of time, they will stay clean and quiet.
10. Because, if you do, they may then let you read in peace.

-from the UNBASHED Librarian Magazine, No. 39

February is known as "I love to read" month in schools. It all leads up to celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday on March 2. A lot of schools have various activities throughout the entire month to get their students excited about reading. Even if your child is not yet in school there are many things you can do at home, also, to celebrate the love of reading. Check out this list of  fun things that Baby Center.com has put together. Some of my favorite ideas from off the list are serve a meal from a book, play dress-up and act out a book, have a reading picnic and build a reading fort in the bedroom. Also, check with your local library to see if they are offering any special programs during the month for children, such as puppet shows, visiting authors or special story times.

Do your children have any favorite book that they like read to them? I would love to hear about them so I can try to get them added to our classroom library.

Welcome

Welcome to my Wee School blog! I have set up this blog to share information with the parents of my students about all the fun activities that we have planned at Wee School. I also hope to use this blog to share additional information that I hope will be helpful not only to the parents of my students but also other parents and teachers that may read here.