Bubble mixture
This recipe for bubble mixture is quick and easy to make with children.
You will need: * 12 cups of clean water * One and a quarter cups of washing up liquid * 7 tablespoons of glycerine Take a completely clean washing up bowl or bucket, and pour in the cups of water. Next, add your full cup and a quarter of washing up liquid - a good quality brand will give the best results. Lastly add the 'secret'
ingredient, the glycerine - available from specialist cook shops and some supermarkets- that will give your bubble mixture a thicker consistency. As a result, you will find that the bubbles you blow are stronger, longer lasting and even shinier.
Using a clean wooden spoon, slowly stir the ingredients. While they should be thoroughly blended together, take care not to make the mixture foam up.
You also need to take care to avoid foaming when pouring the mixture into another vessel ready for play. If the solution should foam, however, leave it to settle before attempting to make bubbles - this may take a few minutes. You can of course adjust the quantities of the ingredients to make more or less mixture.
The recipe is particularly good for creating large bubbles. Remember though, that you'll need to provide a big enough container to allow bubble wands to be fully dipped into the solution - and big bubbles require big bubble-wands (see below)! You may want to use a water tray to allow for wide bubble-wands, alongside a bucket providing depth. Naturally all water play should be supervised. Remind children not to create splashes to avoid getting the solution in their eyes.
Bubble wands
For group play, it's good to have plenty of bubble-wands in all sorts of sizes and shapes. Why not ask the children in advance to bring in any they have at home? You may find that some have saved the empty containers and wands from their past shop-bought bubble mixture, while others may have some of the novelty wands available. There are all sorts on the market, including 'bubble machines' that will churn out strings of bubbles when filled with mixture. However, why not have a go at creating your own giant wands too?
You will need:
* Lengths (of about 50cm) of dowel/garden cane for the sticks * Thin polypropylene rope or wide nylon cord The lengths of dowel or garden cane should be lightly sanded at each end to avoid splinters. Next, children cut a length of rope or cord, of about 60cm. You might be able to find this at your local scrap store, but alternatively both can be bought cheaply by the metre in hardware stores.
Make sure nylon cord is of the wide variety or it will be too lightweight.
To make the wand, children simply knot one end of their cord around the top of their stick, and tie the other end about three quarters of the way down.
This will form a loop that will create giant bubbles when dipped in the mixture. The children can experiment with blowing bubbles, waving the wands gently in the air to make wavy, free form shapes, or holding the wands high in the air and then dropping their arms down quickly to create a long, tubular bubble. They can also try sliding the knotted ends of the cord along the stick to change the size and shape of their bubbles.
The children could have fun testing out various objects to see if they too can be used as bubble-wands. Will quoits work for instance, or even hula-hoops? Try dipping them in the mixture and waving them in the air to see what happens.
You can extend the activity by adding a few drops of food colouring or paint powder to the mixture. The children can then chase the bubbles, catching them on pieces of paper. They will leave colourful prints that can be taken home as a visible reminder of all the fun they've had.