by Michelle Yuen, PT
Every kid loves to pop bubbles, go ahead have lots of bubble popping fun – here are some activities ideas to help improve your child’s development!
- Catch bubbles. You can catch big bubbles with wet hands! So immerse your hands in the bubble mixture and catch and play with bubbles in your hands. This is great for trunk strength, coordination and reaching.
- Taking Turns. You can work on turn taking with your child by having caregiver or siblings take turns.
- Sit and reach to pop bubbles. This is a great activity for babies working on their sitting balance. The baby will go from a hunched (flexed) position when reaching toward the floor to a straight up (elongated) position as he reaches forward and upward. This position is working the back, neck, shoulders, and visual system; baby must coordinate all the muscles. You may want a boppy or pillow behind him just in case!
- Eye contact. Once you have started the bubble play and your child is enjoying it, take a moment to PAUSE before blowing more. This is a wonderful opportunity to gain your child’s full attention and make eye contact as you hold the bubble wand to your face. Modeling “Blow!” or “ready-set- go!” is a way to add fun and language to the play.
- Bubble Chase. Have the child close their eyes, blow bubbles and say “go!” The child must count and pop as many bubbles as they can before they pop on the ground. This activity will work the child’s dynamic standing and walking coordination.
- Watch bubbles change color. Bubbles are full of color and you can talk with your child about the colors they see. Notice them changing from blue, green, yellow, until it will eventually looks colorless before popping.
- Blow bubbles onto a table top. You will need to make your table top wet so your bubbles don’t pop. A plastic kids table works great! Use straws/tubes and bubble solution to blow bubbles directly onto the table. Can you create a flower with the bubbles or an animal like a snake? This is a great activity for breath control with speech and also reaching to pop them at the end! One of the most important emotional regulation activities for children -well anyone really – is deep breathing. Blowing bubbles is a great way to practice this!
These are just a few of the many ways to use bubbles to encourage your child’s developmental skills. Worried about spills? Check out our favorite no-spill bubble container 😉