I feel like we are being spoiled with the lovely sunny weather at the moment! To the point I'm beginning to feel hard done by if its cloudy! Doesn't it make so much difference being able to spend much time outdoors in the sunshine, running free and exploring all it has to offer! I know lots of you have been enjoying my activities I have been sharing on Instagram. Water beads are always really fun and popular!
We have been taking lots of activities outside including our Giant Bubbles using our Homemade Recipe! The children (and grown ups) have been loving it!
Today I want to share with you a lovely sensory activity - Frozen Water Beads.
Before I begin to share this activity, lets just cover suitability.
Water beads are not edible. They are to be used under very very close supervision by a responsible adult. I did this activity with my boys at 23 months old, but I never left their side.
If they started to put the beads by their mouths, I would have removed the activity and occupied them with something different. Like all activities - make sure they are suitable and safe for the children taking part.
I did this activity with Neve around 3 years ago! Time flies! We made a Frozen Rainbow using water beads! Here I am 3 years later doing it with my boys! Here was the set up that I presented to them! What I like about activities like this is you can prepare them and get them out spontaneously when the moments right.
Today we had been out shopping. We came back, ate lunch and the twins wanted to go for a run outside. While they were out there burning their energy - 2 minutes I put this together and just popped it on a tree stump in the garden to see if it would interest them.
Have you ever used water beads before? They have such a calming texture to them. You can grab them here - Water Beads.
Here is what the beads looked like fresh out the freezer. I soaked them in water over night. Once fully expanded I selected some containers and plates to create some shapes. I was focusing on circles and rectangles today.
In my opinion the circles were the most effective. I used a plastic child's plate, poured in the beads and added water. It went in the freezer and was ready to use the next day.
I added two containers of luke warm water and popped inside some paint brushes to dip and brush the water over the bumpy beads!
The boys were drawn to the activity right away. The brushes were a real hit. It didn't take long for the ice sculptures to come away from the plates and containers. It took the boys a little while to work they could remove them from the containers but I allowed them the time to discover this on their own.
They were just so absorbed with using the brushes!
Once removed here is how they looked.
The one side was bumpy but once it was flipped over there was a shiny, smooth sheet of ice. Below encased were the colourful beads!
The boys loved rubbing their hands over the ice and loved the wet sensation. Repeatedly they went to pick up the ice and giggled at how excruciatingly cold it felt between their fingers before dropping it into the tray again.
Ethan eventually plucked up the courage to pick one up and places it into the luke warm water. It pretty much dissolved the ice immediately.
Here is the base from the rectangular containers.
To extend this activity I am already thinking about using some hammers and chisels to help free the beads. As the twins really loved using the brushes I am planning to do some more water painting with them on the patio and fence panels.
It wasn't long before the boys insisted to have a paint brush in each hand, so I popped inside to grab two more for them. They would run excitedly up the garden before returning to the tray. It was a real success.
Lets take a look at this activity in action:
I help the sculptures up to the sky and we looked at the light they filtered through, between the beads. They reminded me of our Winter Ice Sculptures and Spring Sculptures.
Have you ever used water beads before? They have such a calming texture to them.
You can grab them here - Water Beads.
Other posts to check out on Learning and Exploring Through Play:
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