How to have a Bubble Party

How to have a Bubble Party;  msalishacarlson.com/

I am so excited to have our guest blogging Kindergarten teacher, Carol Zook, share her favorite bubble activity with us… a bubble party!  Carol’s creativity and love for little ones astounds me!  She is such a fun woman and teacher!  Both she and I hope you and your little ones can enjoy some bubble fun together!

 

Have a bubble party!  It’s fun, inexpensive and (gasp!) educational!

 

Bubble Day used to be one of my favorite days of the year.  Our school corporation held an All Kindergarten Bubble Day.  We used to make 125 gallons of solution.  The classes would meet together and we had a great time.  (And the teachers went home very tired.)  

One warning –  If you do this on a driveway or other paved area, it will get very slippery.  We used to have the fire department come and hose off our parking lot so that the buses didn’t slip when they came to pick the kids up. So you may want to keep a garden hose handy!

 

How to have your own bubble party…

 

Soaring Invitations:

Glue a small bubble wand (found in small bottles of purchased bubble solution) on the outside of a folded piece of paper or tag board.  Write a caption such as “Floating by to invite you to…” and have your child draw bubbles on the card with markers.  On the inside, write “my bubble party”. Add the specific time and location.  Or… design an invitation on your computer and attach the bubble wand.

 

Bubble Recipe:

Fill a gallon milk jug ¾ full with water.  Add 1 cup of dish detergent.  (Dawn or Joy work best.)  Add 2 tablespoons of glycerin.  (You can find glycerin at most drug stores.  If you can’t find glycerin, you can substitute light corn syrup.)  Finish filling with water.  Let the solution set 3 or 4 hours before using.   Transfer to dish tubs.   Remind children to be gentle when dipping their bubble instruments.  The solution works better if it is not too sudsy.  The play area will become slippery.  Pin a wash cloth on the children’s clothes to dry their hands on.

 

Bubble Equipment:

You’ll need a children’s wading pool, dish tubs, egg beaters, wire whisks, gallon milk jugs for making bubbles, and purchased bubble wands

 

“Homemade” Bubble Instruments:

Gather strainers, splatter shields, clean fly swatters, berry baskets (tie a string to each corner of the basket and tie the four strings together at the end), rings from canning jars, plastic hangers, hula hoops.  Many items you have around the house will make good bubble makers.  Let you imagination soar.

 

To make a bubble pipe:

You’ll need an empty frosting container and a straw.  Cut a small X near the side of the lid of a frosting container where you can insert a straw.  Cut a hole near the other side of the lid for the bubbles to escape.  Fill the container with water and add a teaspoon of soap.  Close lid and insert straw.  Remind the children to blow out, not suck in.

 

Refreshing your little bubblers:

Decorate a cake with “bubble wands” made from pretzel rings and sticks covered with white chocolate.  You could also decorate cupcakes with decors to look like bubbles.  Serve bubble gum ice cream.  Make punch using ginger ale and pineapple juice.  Just pour both ingredients into a pitcher or punch bowl at the same time.  The faster you pour the more foam you get.

 

Favors:

Make a bubble pipe from a frosting container for each child.  Provide permanent markers and labels for the child to decorate their pipe.  Include a small bottle of homemade bubble solution.  (You might want to include a copy of the bubble recipe as a favor to the child’s mom.)

Have your child decorate a wash cloth for each guest with fabric paint.

 

Activities:

  1. Give the children plenty of time to explore.
  2. Make thick foam by beating some the solution with an egg beater or whisk in a metal bowl.
  3. Blow bubbles on the table and measure how long they are.
  4. Make bubble pictures.  Add food coloring to a small dish of bubble solution.  Blow the bubbles onto a sheet of paper.  Hang on a rack to dry.   Practice this with you own child before the party.
  5. Set up a table with “assorted junk” and let the children make their own bubble makers.
  6. Play a “Pin the Bubble on the Wand” game.

 

Bubble Resource:

Bubble Festival, Lawrence Hall of Science, University of Berkley, Ca. 1994

 

 

Carol Zook; msalishacarlson.com/

 

Carol Zook grew up in a small town with two younger brothers.  She realized she loved children’s books when she took Children’s Literature in college.  One of her favorite part of the school day was reading aloud to her classes.  She misses that so much.  Carol is God’s child, Vaughn’s wife and was a “3 hour mom” to over 1,500 Kindergarten students.  She has been published in Pockets, The Secret Place, Guardian Angel Kids ezine, Learn Every Day About Numbers and Learn Every Day About Social Studies.

 

 

Alisha

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