Blowing Bubbles


Preparation time: Blowing Bubbles need a maximum of ten minutes to prepare if you wish to make the bubble soap and your wands; or none if you are using the store bought variety.

Clean-up time: None if you are in the bath - unless things get a little too enthusiastic!

Game Duration: As long as you want, but generally between 5 and 15 minutes.

What you will need: Bubble soap (you can make your own!) and a bubble wand.


How to Play:

We all love blowing bubbles! Bubbles are fun to watch, fun to pop and tricky to create. A toddler blowing bubbles is practicing coordination of lip muscles and breath, all useful in learning to speak.

Dip the wand into the soap, bring the wand slowly in front of your mouth, make an exaggerated "kissy lips" face and blow slowly into the wand. Make sure your toddler is watching! You'll get several reactions! A squeal of delight followed by enthusiastic poking of the growing bubble is one possibility. Amazed observation of the bubble floating away is another. Trying to grab the wand and the soap can also happen. Go with the flow and describe what your toddler is seeing and doing.

You could try gently blowing through the wand onto your toddler to let her feel how the is air moving through the wand. Let your toddler explore the wand, she will find out that it is soapy and unpleasant to eat soon enough. Then encourage your toddler to let you have the wand so you can fill it with soap. You can hold it up to her mouth and say "blow!", or she may insist on holding it herself. Having several wands is useful because you can let toddler explore one while you fill the air with bubbles with the other.


Tips:

  • Feel free to change the game to popping bubbles instead of blowing bubbles as your toddler will soon learn to blow as you present the game repeatedly!
  • When your toddler is first learning to blow bubbles you will have to model it for her, often. Keep the bubble soap in your control or it will be dumped into the tub and your activity will be over!
  • You may find it useful to teach your toddler to blow into the water before adding the coordination of blowing into a bubble wand, but it is not absolutely necessary, and some toddlers don't like to get their faces wet.

  • If you are making your own soap start by mixing smaller amounts, enough for a single use. Once you find a recipe you really like try mixing up a bigger batch. Then you'll have plenty on hand to blow bubbles everywhere! Take them outside on a rainy day! Bubbles last longer in humid environments, that's why they are great in the tub and on rainy days outside.
  • If you choose to make your own soap you will need to make your own wand. Many things from your recycling bin will do, as long as it is too big to swallow and has a hole to blow through. Be inventive, try cutting holes into plastic lids for a good large "wand" easy to grip. You could also use craft supplies like pipe cleaners, bent into a wand shape, but beware the pokey wire inside, and discard after use because the wire rusts.


Variation for Older Toddlers: Older toddlers will love to explore bubbles outside, and carry around their soap. Spill-proof containers can be bought or made but they limit you to a traditional wand shape. You can also fill a shallow dish with soap and let your toddler dip flat open shapes (like the lids with holes). Let her discover if she gets differently shaped bubbles with differently shaped holes (she won't, but she doesn't know that yet). Let her explore what many closely spaced holes will produce (foamy bubbles), or even get brave and try to make a giant bubble!


Return from Blowing Bubbles to Toddler Bath

Return from Blowing Bubbles to Toddler Games and Activities