Summer Camp "Friendship Rocks": Bubbles

Everybody loves bubbles. Today, at camp, we not only played with bubbles but we made our own bubble solution.

One of our campers loved the activity so much that he created this drawing at home.

Here is the recipe for our giant bubbles:

Giant Bubbles

Measure 6 cups of water into one container, then pour 1 cup of dish soap into the water and slowly stir it until the soap is mixed in. Try not to let foam too much while you stir. Measure 1/4 cup of corn syrup and add it to the container. Stir the solution until it is mixed together.

Here are some ideas how to promote communication and social interactions while making and playing with bubbles:

•  Assign one group leader per small group. The group leader follows the recipe and communicates the steps to his peers. Provide a visual recipe that is easy to follow for readers and non-readers alike (see example).
  

  

  I WISH I COULD GO IN THE BUBBLE.

•  Practice taking turns when making the bubble solution. e.g., one child pours he dish soap in, another child measures the corn syrup. Let children negotiate who is doing what.
• Promote the idea of helping each other, e.g., one camper holds the measuring cup while the other pours the water into the measuring cup.
• Provide a variety of different wands (e.g. some that produce big bubbles, some that produce only small ones) so kids need to share and talk to each other what wand they want to try.
•  Playing with bubbles is a great way of increasing awareness of personal space: not bumping into each other, or having wands too close to each others faces.
•  Encourage language: "This bubble is really big." "Look at all the tiny bubbles." "These bubbles are high up in the sky." "They are flying fast."