Bubble prints on big paper

It's bubble week in our classroom. We practiced blowing bubbles at the sensory table, recycled soda and water bottles to create bubble snake-makers, and we also made bubble prints.

It's one of those "oldie-but-goodie" activities, so I couldn't pass it up. First we made individual bubble prints inside the classroom. All you need is paper, straws, plastic cups, bubble solution (1 cup of Dawn dish soap and 3 cups of water), and liquid water colors (you may also use food coloring).

We still had plenty of the colored bubble solution left, so we cut a large piece of butcher paper, and brought the bubble blowing outside!

This is completely process oriented art. There is no end product in mind...we blow colored bubbles just for the sake of blowing bubbles and watching the colors mix.

I cut a small snip near the top of each straw to keep the bubbles from being inhaled.

Very few "prints" are actually made, but that's okay. Its about the process, not the product!

This activity is great for building language, social and emotional skills (taking turns and sharing). It's also an enriching sensory experience.

Did you know that we have a special spot in our brain for sensory experiences? Once you experience something with your senses, you will never forget it! Not sure?

Close your eyes and remember the sound of your mother's voice, the taste of a penny, the feel of warm soap and water, and the smell of your child-hood home. Could you hear it? Taste it? Feel it? Smell it?

That's why providing sensory experiences is so important for young children. Now is the time that they are building an understanding of how the world works and what the world has to offer.

Now is the time that children learn that soap makes water feel slippery, and can cause bubbles when you blow in it with a straw. Bubbles are used to clean things like your hands, your body, your hair, your car, and your floors.

Eventually, the bubbles got boring, and the straws became the focus of exploration.

 And so did feet.

This is my favorite shot of the day!

Happy playing! 

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