Yipee! Charlotte’s coming over and we’re going to have some bubble fun. I’ve got everything all set: homemade bubble solution that creates super-duper large bubbles, homemade bubble-making devices, and some gadgets from my kitchen with which to experiment. Who do you think is going to have more fun playing with bubbles, little Charlotte or me?
Basic Bubble Solution
Recipe from the Unbelievable Bubble Book by John Cassidy
INGREDIENTS
Bubble Solution
1 clean container/pail
1 cup Joy or Dawn dish detergent (no substitutions)
3 to 4 tablespoons glycerin (can be purchased at a drugstore)
10 cups clean, cold water (up to 50% more on dry days)
DIRECTIONS
1. Measure 10 cups of water into the pail.
2. Add 1 cup Joy or Dawn dish soap.
3. Add glycerin. In most atmospheres, it makes the bubbles more durable by reducing evaporation.
4. Stir, but not too much. You don’t want froth on the top because it tends to break the bubbles. If you get any, skim it off with your hand.
5. Gather or make any wand materials.
6. Pour bubble solution into non-breakable shallow containers such as pie pans, baking pans, dish pans, depending on the size of your bubble wands.
7. Select a wand, dip it in solution, and let excess solution drip off.
Possible Bubble Wands
1. Straws and String: thread a string through two straws and tie a knot at the ends. Move the knot until it is hidden inside one of the straws.
2. Water Bottle and Sock: cut the bottom of the bottle off. Place a sock over the cut edge and secure with a rubber band.
3. Assorted Cans: cut the tops and bottoms cut off. Make sure there are no sharp edges. If there are, you can either tape the edges with duct tape or file/sand them off.
3. 2-liter Soda Bottles: cut bottom cut off and tape bottom edge if there are any sharp jagged edges.
4. Wire Coat Hangers: bend them and form them into different shapes. I bent the handle up at a 90 degree angle to make it easier to dip.
5. Pipe Cleaners: bend them into different shapes. These are a little messy to use, since the fibers pickup a lot of excess solution.
6. Kitchen Colanders and Sieves
7. Strawberry Baskets
8. Hula Hoop: for BIG-time fun, fill a wading pool with an inch or two of solution and use a hula hoop as a wand. An alternative to this is to have the child carefully step into the pool in the middle of the hula hoop. Very slowly lift the hula hoop up from the solution, until the child is in the middle of the bubble.
LINNELL’S NOTES
1. Safety first: bubble activities should always be supervised. Bubble solution is slick and slippery. If any bubble solution gets on the floor, make sure that it does not become a slipping hazard.
2. Make sure that any solution is rinsed off of children’s hands before they touch their face, particularly their eyes.
3. Check for any sharp edges on any homemade wands or kitchen gadgets.
4. The sky’s the limit when it comes to bubble fun. Use your imagination.
Have fun!
