I came across Bubble Foam sensory activity ideas when doing a search of activities I could quickly set up there and then. I had a bored 2 and 3 year old on my hands and I needed a way of entertaining them using stuff I already had in the house.
My kids love messing about with water and so I knew as soon as I saw this activity idea I was going to be onto a winner.
It’s Really Simple to Make
Seriously, you need 2 ingredients to get your basic bubble foam sensory activity started.
1.Bubble bath (we personally like this Childs Farm one for sensitive skin but any will do, heck you could even use washing up liquid if you wanted) 2.Water.
Top Tip – If you have younger babies/toddlers you might want to see if you can get your hands on no tears bubble bath in case they rub it in their eyes.
To make the foam you just need to mix 2 parts water to 1 part bubble bath/washing up liquid and mix. So I used a measuring jug and measured out 3 cups of water and 1.5 cups of bubble bath.
You can use a food processor or an electric hand wisk to mix it up. I actually got the two confused in my head and used a hand blender. 😂 It worked though but maybe took a little longer! If you Don’t have any of those you can use a manual hand whisk which will work just as well and gives your arms a little work out too.
You are looking for stiff peaks, a little like merengue or whipped cream. You’ll know when it’s ready.
Food Colouring Optional
We added a drop or two of red food colouring as we did this around valentines day. Pink seemed rather fitting but I absolutely am going to make the effort to make rainbow foam next time we do this activity. Lockie adores anything multi coloured at the moment, it looks pretty and the different colours add to the sensory experience.
To make a rainbow bubble foam sensory activity you just need to whip up small batches, maybe 1/2 cup of water to 1/4 cup of bubble bath and add a different food colouring to each batch, then add all colours next to each other in one big container.
If your using lots of food colouring I’d probably recommended putting the kids in old clothes just in case of staining.
What to put the foam in
We set up our bubble foam sensory activity in a plastic storage box normally reserved for Lockie’s train set. I’ve seen people make loads of foam and filling the bath, placing their toddlers in it but I would have thought it would be a little cold and slippy! Your only using soap and water so I just rinsed the bubbles out of the box in the shower when done.
I set up the activity in the kitchen, well away from carpet. Put old towels underneath the box and an old sheet on top of the towels just to soak up any splashes and prevent slipping. I also put some hand towels out so Lockie and Scarlett could dry their utensils and hands if they wanted (they did). All towels and sheets got chucked straight in the washing machine when done. Easy peasey!
What to add
Literally anything you don’t mind getting wet.
We started with kitchen utensils as Scarlett loves kitchen stuff. I have no idea why! So they had a ladle, two whisks, measuring spoons, a serving spoon and cookie cutters. I then added beach toys once the novelty of playing with utensils wore off. So a couple of buckets, some spades and sand moulds.
You could use foam letters, cars, bath toys, figures anything.
It kept my toddlers busy
That’s the aim of the game right? Keeping your kids busy so you can enjoy a hot cup of tea, clean the bathroom (I recommend kids are supervised at all times, our bathroom is right next to our kitchen), whatever you want to do. Lockie and Scarlett enjoyed this bubble foam sensory activity for over 30 mins with very little input from me. Scarlett would of played longer but she stopped when Lockie declared he was finished as she copies everything he does at the moment!
Will you try it?
I definitely recommend giving it a go when you need something super quick and easy to set up. Its easy to clean away too and will keep your kids entertained!
Let me know if you give it a go in the comments below. 😊