Posts filed under ‘Bubbles’
Lots of Bubbles at Wisconsin PBS Kids Open House
They came; they made bubbles; they left.
I just went through 12 gallons of bubble juice at Wisconsin Public Television’s Open House at Vilas Hall in Madison, WI.
That’s a lot of bubbles.
That’s a lot of kids.
That’s a lot of fun.
About 1000 kids and parent showed up to make bubbles, see Mr. Steve and enjoy their favorite PBS Kids characters.
If you want me to come to your special event, just send me an email at getkidsoutside@gmail.com.
Bubbles are fun and even the smallest children can enjoy them.
Bubble Party: Tips for Bubbling with a lot of Kids
Need Wands? Order your bubble kit today!
We do lots of bubbling during warm weather.
Here are some tips for hours of happy, bubbling fun with lots of kids. These guidelines use the Big Bubble Wands and recipe available on this blog.
1) Make Bubble Juice: Make at least 2 gallons of bubble juice. It’s cheap and you don’t want to run out. The recipe comes with the wands or you can find it under “Bubbles” on this blog.
2) Create a Bubble Zone: The wands stay in the bubble area.
3) Tray Placement: Place bubble trays in the Zone, a good distance apart. I usually place 5 trays and have 10 wands. Older kids can place and fill the trays with juice.
4) Safe Wand Use: Bubble wands are for making bubbles only. This ensures that no one gets hit with a bubble wand accidentally. Bubble poppers use their hands. If necessary, remind kids that wands are not swords or weapons.
5) Have Other Activities: Have other activities to do besides bubbles such as play structures, hula hoops, ball games, water games, etc. Allow kids can enter and exit the Bubble Zone at will, leaving the wands for other kids to play with. This way you only need 10 wands for about 20 kids. Plus, remember that some kids love to pop only. This is fun to watch.
6) Clean-Up. The juice is sticky, so kids may need to wash their hands afterward. The wands, trays and mixing bowls clean up easy with water.
Most of all, have fun. Kids love bubbles. I have had very few behavior issues with bubbles. I think this is because bubbling is non-competitive and beautiful. It also helps to have lots of wands and trays and other things to do at your party.
You can find Diane Schwartz bubbling at the Goodman Community Center where she is a K-5 teacher. She leads hiking, skiing and biking adventures. In her spare time, she sells bubble wands and does outdoor consulting.
For a free 11-page Bubble Activity Guide, just go to the home page and subscribe to this blog.
Reading, Bubbles & Sidewalk Chalk
Today feels like summer.
The sun shines warm. The wind blows hot. And the sky is deep blue.
So, it makes sense to do summer things with the kids like sidewalk chalk, bubbles, and reading.
Yes, reading.
The first Tuesday of the month, we have a read aloud with Tracy Moore, the children’s services librarian from the Hawthorne Library. She usually reads two stories and then does an art project with the kids. Today she read, “One Stuck Duck” by Phyllis Root and did a felt board story about a pig going on a picnic.
Afterward, we went crazy with the sidewalk chalk. We made cats, butterflies and princesses, traced our bodies, played hop scotch, and made lots of scary faces and designs. The bubbles blew quickly through the air in the warm wind. It was magical and perfect day.
I love making connections between the outdoors, reading and art. Hopefully, this pattern will stick with the kids and leave them wanting more of all three. This summer, we’ll continue our library reading program to help keep them active with books and learning. We want our kids to enter the school year ready to learn.
I hope that you get creative with kids now that the weather has turned gorgeous. Try adding a book into the mix to add some literacy.
Diane Schwartz is a K1 teacher at the Goodman Community Center in Madison, WI. She specializes in getting kids outside. For a free 11-page Bubble Activity Guide, just go to the home page and subscribe to this blog.
Blue, Red and Green Snow: Colorful Outdoor Play
Give kids something unusual to play with and watch what happens.
On Friday, I filled up a bunch of spray bottles with colored water, grabbed some bubble wands and bubble juice and went outside with 6 kids. They immediately got creative. Each kid picked a different color and started squirting the snow different colors. Then each child gave themselves a name and marked off their territory in the snow. They picked tornado, storm and wolverine. I think they got these names from the Fantastic Four or from watching other super hero movies. They gave me the name “Bubble Monster.” I would blow bubbles and they’d squirt them from the sky. Then, they’d retreat to their territory for protection.
This was a lot of fun and the temperature was perfect. The spray bottles didn’t freeze up like they had on other adventures. Kids love this activity and are fascinated by the different colors. They also like watching the water freeze on surfaces and change the texture of the snow. Their creative play was an added bonus. It was fun watching these very different kids play together so well.
Bubble Trouble
Kids love bubbles. They love making them, popping them and watching them. That’s why for the past three months, I have tried just about every homemade and store bought bubble recipe to find one that works and is inexpensive. It’s no fun to run out of bubble juice when kids are having fun (See Bubble Recipe post). I’ve also tried an assortment of homemade bubble wand methods: pipe cleaners, coat hangers, tin cans with both ends cut off, paper funnels, strainers, plastic food containers and a lot more. These wands worked great for a short while, but didn’t last. The cans rusted, the paper funnels got soggy, and the coat hangers were easily bent. I needed something that would last, so, I looked for store bought wands. They worked better, but they started at around $10 each. Again, this wouldn’t work with lots of kids. I kept searching the net for inexpensive wands that worked. I found them at www.bigbubble wands.com. I ordered a kit and tried them out. They worked. Then I got the idea to become a distributor for these wands. Just click on my Bubble Wand page for more information.
I guess that’s why I call this post ‘Bubble Trouble’. I never knew that my passion for getting kids outside would lead me to starting a business. I’m busier than every with working full-time with kids and getting my business off the ground. It’s exciting and exhausting. It’s fun to sell a product that provides such joy to young and old.
If you have any questions about bubbling and bubble wands, please let me know. I’d be happy to help you wand through the tangle of information on the web and elsewhere.
Happy Bubbling!
Easy Bubble Recipe that Works
Here’s the bubble recipe that I recommend for use with my wands:
