How to make rubber bouncy balls

Bouncy balls are always lots of fun to play with. Here I’ll teach you the instructions my daughter taught me on how to make rubber bouncy balls.

I don’t mind those days that my children feel bored.

I’ve fallen in to the trap of being the in-house entertainment for my children before. It only caused me to be overwhelmed and in survival mode.

Over time I’ve learnt to trust the moment and know that my children will , give up on hassling me and come up with their own creative ideas.

How to make rubber bouncy balls

Possum (aged 8 years) one day came up with a great step by step instructions on how to make a rubber bouncy ball.

It’s actually a brilliant science activity for children to do at home.

Recommended age: 5 years+
(Strict and active supervision is required at all times)

Brilliant.

There are many ways to make a simple bouncy ball. I do think this way is the quick and easiest.

You will need –

• Rubber bands (or hair ties)
• Roughly a small 10cm x 10cm square of newspaper

As you can see, you don’t need many things to make these super fun and bouncy balls.

Begin by scrunching up a small, 10cm x 10cm square of newspaper. The smaller the newspaper is, the smaller the bouncy ball will be.

If you choose to have a large fist size scrunched up piece of paper, the rubber band will be roughly that size.

Bigger ball of newspaper takes up more rubber bands.

Fine Motor Skills

As you can imagine, this is a great way to get your child to challenge their fine motor skills.

Stretching, twisting and winding the elastic rubber bands around the newspaper takes persistence, determination and fine motor control.

With your scrunched up newspaper, begin by wrapping and twisting the rubber bands around the newspaper.

Add different colours for creativity and interest.

Cover completely with the elastic rubber bands, your bouncy ball is ready.

Your child will have lots of fun testing out their new handmade bouncy ball.

Consider adding a bit of science to your child’s day using their new bouncy ball. A bouncy ball can teach a child about physics, gravity and more. Check out this cool website.

Inspire your child to create different challenges and test out various theories.

What will happen if I drop it from a small height?

What will happen if I drop it from a higher height?

Predicting the results to an experiment with bouncy balls is always great fun and suitable for children of all ages.

How many bouncy balls do you think your child will make?

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