8 Amazing Sensory Activities With Bubbles For Babies

ByKelly Garnett

From around six months of age, babies will begin to enjoy new textures and feeling things with their fingers and hands. They love to grab and pull and touch, which makes doing a fun sensory activity with them a great idea, and bubbles are a fun way to do that.

1. Sensory Foam Bubbles Sink

One great activity using bubbles that you could do with your baby is making a sensory foam bubble sink.

Prepare your sink and make sure it is nice and clean beforehand; you do not want any old pieces of food floating around in your water.

Put the plug in the sink and pour in a generous amount of dishwashing liquid.

Fill the sink around halfway with warm water; make sure that the water is not too warm for your baby’s hands. Try keeping it at bath water temperature.

Next, take an immersion blender and start blending the dishwashing soap and water together; the more you blend, the more bubbles you will get. 

You do still want some water underneath the bubbles, so add more water if needed.

This step will create a sink full of fluffy bubbles for your little one to now enjoy.

Trying putting some bigger, water-safe toys in the sink. Toys that will reach above the water is the goal as your baby will be able to see them and reach for them.

You can now carefully hold your baby next to the sink and allow them to play with the bubbles and get their hands full of the fun soapy bubbles.

This activity needs to be done under the careful supervision of a parent; never leave your baby alone around water unsupervised.

2. Soap Bubbles Sensory Bin

This sensory bin is similar to the sink sensory activity but allows for a little more independence for your baby when it comes to them playing with the bubbles.

Prepare a baking sheet or shallow tub that your baby will easily be able to reach into while sitting on the floor.

Using an immersion blender, or even using a regular blender and a large bowl, mix together:

  • Water 
  • Vanilla essence (this is optional and just to make it smell nice.) 
  • Dishwashing liquid.

Blend blend blend this mix until there are stiff bubbles inside the blender or large bowl.

There is no perfect amount of this or that to make these bubbles when it comes to this recipe. Keep adding more dishwashing liquid and water and mix around with the ratio until you find the texture that you are after with the bubbles.

Pour the stiff bubbles into the baking sheet or shallow tub and spread them out evenly.

Now, add lots of baby-safe kitchen utensils to the foam and let your baby play around with them; kitchen utensils that work well in this activity include:

  • A spatula 
  • A whisk
  • Measuring cups
  • Plastic bowls
  • Plastic cups
  • Wooden spoons

Let your baby get their hands in the bubbles and pick up and move around the fun kitchen tools inside. 

3. Letters And Rainbow Bubbles Sensory Play

This activity is fun for babies who are learning how to speak because as they pick up a letter, you can tell them the letter, and you can try to get them to repeat it after you.

Get a large tub ready, preferably a shallow one, but as long as your baby can reach inside of it, it will work perfectly.

Fill the tub with bubble bath and warm water and mix it well to get lots of bubbles. If you want more bubbles than you have, try using a whisk and mixing in a little more bubble bath with it; that should get you a good amount of bubbles.

Add some drops of your chosen food coloring into the water and mixing it in well to give your water and bubble bath some fun coloring to it.

Next, add your colorful foam letters. Try hiding them under the bubble bath as much as possible and encourage your baby to dig around in the water to find them.

Make sure your baby is sitting next to you or on your lap the entire time you are doing this activity to ensure they are safe around the tub of water.

4. Giant Bubbles

This activity is a good way to entertain your baby with bubbles; they get to watch you or an older sibling make giant bubbles all around them, and they will be able to reach out and grab them.

What you will need to create these amazing giant bubbles are the following: 

  • Warm water – 12 cups
  • Hot water – 2 cups
  • Guar gum – 1 teaspoon
  • Baking powder – 1 teaspoon
  • Glycerine – 4 teaspoons
  • Dishwashing liquid – 1 cup

You can use either a large container or a bucket as the bubble container for this activity. In your bucket or large container, add in your warm water.

 In a small jug, add your glycerine, baking powder, and the guar gum. Stir these ingredients together well. They will eventually form a gel-like appearance.

Add the hot water into this mixture and mix until it has thinned out the gel-like texture.

Add the mixture in the jug into the bucket or large container that has the warm water in it and stir well.

Lastly, you can now add the dishwashing liquid into the mixture and once again stir slowly and gently until everything has been incorporated well.

Set the bucket aside to cool, still stirring it every ten or so minutes, until the temperature has cooled down significantly. This usually takes about an hour.

In the time that you are waiting for your bubble mixture to cool down, you can make your make-shift bubble wand.

You will need to use an old wire coat hanger and a strong stick. Bend the coat hanger until it forms a circle, then bend the hook straight.

Using some twine and a bit of duct tape, attach the stick to the straightened out hook to create a handle.

And there you have it; it may not be the most beautiful creation you have made, but it will do the trick.

Once the bubble mixture is cool, set up a blanket outside for your baby to sit on and let them watch as you make these giant bubbles for them.

Let them reach out and touch the giant bubbles as they come near them and watch them be amazed as they pop when touched.

If you have older kids, this activity will be great to let them be involved with as well.

5. Scented Bubbles To Calm Down Your Child

If your baby is having a bit of a hard time for some reason, whether it is because of teething or overstimulation, or maybe they just woke up on the wrong side of the bed as babies sometimes do.

Whatever the reason, if your baby is having a hard time, these calming bubbles may be the perfect distraction to help your baby feel a bit more calm in their distress.

Here is what you will need to make these calming bubbles for your baby:

  • Lukewarm water – 1 and a half cups 
  • Clear dishwashing liquid – half a cup
  • Corn syrup – a quarter cup
  • Lavender essential oil – 3-5 drops
  • Purple food coloring – 3 drops (optional)

Combine all ingredients into a jar and use a bubble wand from an old jar of bubbles to blow these bubbles.

Lavender has a wonderfully calming effect on the brain, and it helps soothe people, even babies, who are feeling sad or stressed.

The smell of lavender, coupled with watching bubbles gently float around, will hopefully help calm your little one down in a soothing and relaxing way.

6. Reusable Flubber Bubbles 

Reusable flubber bubbles are super fun for your baby to play with, squish and squeeze. You use this fun flubber to make a big bubble and then let your baby squash it. 

You can then repeat the process as many times as you want, and what is so great about this is you can actually let your baby pop this bubble without the risk of getting frightened or hurt, unlike with a balloon, for example.

Here is your flubber bubble recipe:

  • Elmer’s Non-Toxic Washable Glue White – 1 cup 
  • Room temperature water – half a cup.
  • Liquid starch – half a cup.
  • Glitter or food coloring – optional 

Mix together your water and glue until it is well integrated. Then, add your liquid starch and mix well.

You will need to switch to using your hands at this point to combine well, and once it is combined properly, it will be ready to be made into your reusable bubble!

Pull off a large chunk of your flubber and roll it out into a small, thick disk. Make sure the disk is still pretty thick, or it may break too easily in the next step.

Next, wrap all the edges of the disk around one end of a straw and hold them on with your fingers.

On the other end of a straw, slowly start to blow and inflate the flubber bubble. Let your baby watch you do this; it will blow their little mind and be super fun for them.

Once your flubber bubble is inflated, give it to your little one and let them feel it, look at it and inevitably pop it. 

Let them squish the flubber with their fingers for a couple of minutes and then start again and blow up the bubble for them.

You can repeat this bubble process for as long as they will stay interested in this fun bubble, and you may even get a good laugh or two out of them.

You can store your flubber in an airtight container for a few weeks at a time, which means you can do this sensory activity with your baby every day for weeks before needing to make a new batch of flubber.

7. Bubble Wand

Basic bubbles are also an amazing pass time for your little one to enjoy. It is far less hands-on for them, but they do always seem to enjoy just watching their mom or dad magically making those bubbles appear seemingly out of nowhere.

A great way to make these bubbles just that much more fun and entertaining is to make fun bubble wands that they can look at and hold with you while you blow the bubbles.

Some examples of these fun bubble wands include:

  • Beaded Wand
  • Seasonal Holiday Wands
  • Pipe Cleaner Wand
  • Heart Wands

There are so many fun bubble wands that you can make and rotate between to catch your baby’s attention at bubble time.

8. Unpoppable Bubble

The key to the unpoppable bubble is to wear winter gloves, so if your baby does not have a pair of gloves or mittens already, go get some! 

The oils that our fingers sport are what are responsible for bubbles popping when they touch our hands, and the gloves prevent that from happening.

Here is the recipe for the “bubble” part of the unpoppable bubble:

  • Water – 2 tablespoons
  • Dishwashing soap – 1 tablespoon
  • Sugar – 2 tablespoons

Gently mix together the water and dish soap, and add the sugar. Stir it gently until the sugar has dissolved. 

After this, use an old bubble wand or a DIY bubble wand and blow a bubble using this mixture.

Hold out our baby’s hand and let the bubble hand on it. Let them inspect the bubble and enjoy this cool activity! Once it pops, repeat again.

Conclusion 

Bubbles are super fun pass time for your baby, but they are also an amazing medium to use for sensory activities for your baby.

Whether you use them in water with toys and water, on their own with kitchen tools, or even just blowing the classic bubble and watching it floating in the air, your baby will absolutely love them.

So go grab your bubbles and your baby and let the sensory fun begin.

References 

I am a qualified early-years educator with over 15 years of experience working with children from newborn to 12 years old. I have attended multiple educational CPDs, first aid courses, sign language courses, and child psychology courses to develop and enhance my own personal skills.

Visit our "About" section to find out more about me.

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