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Water Beads

April 7, 2014 by Kate 6 Comments

Sensory Fun using Water Beads
Have you ever heard of water beads? It recently found out how wonderful they are for sensory play. After finding a packet in a local craft store  I began posting a few images of Possum playing with them on the Laughing Kids Learn Facebook page, I became inundated with emails and messages from people wanting to know more. So here is a post to tell you all about having sensory fun using water beads.

Firstly, why is sensory play important for children?

Children learn from their senses.  Even newborn babies begin life by using their senses to learn and make connections about the world. Providing our children with a variety of sensory related activities is a great way for them to have fun and increase their awareness. It’s also important to know that children learn best when engaged in hands-on activities.

Water beads offer children quite a unique sensory experience.

Sensory Water Beads product

I simply purchased this packet from a craft supplier, however, you can purchase them easily from Amazon, see link below. You can also find them in clear, mixed colours or individual colour packs.

Adding water to water beads for sensory play

Before

The water beads begin as tiny pin head sized balls of plastic. This small packet of 10g water beads was added to 1 litre of water and it basically absorbed all the liquid after 6 hours! Incredible. Although it does take a few hours, it’s great for children to observe over time.

Water beads

After

Final result after 6 hours! The have completely expanded and absorbed all the water.

sensory play with water beads

I strained any excess water and tipped out the jelly like balls onto a large platter, ready for play. Water beads feel like a firm jelly that are tough to break. Standing on one, however, would be enough to squish and break them.

feet and sensory water beads

It wasn’t long before Possum asked to put her foot into the water beads and feel the sensation. She giggled and giggled with delight.

Adding basic utensils with water beads

I thought it would also be a great idea to add a few cups and tongs to add to her play experience. She loved the scooping, tipping and pinching the tongs in her many attempts to pick up the water beads.

Playing with sensory water beads

We had a fabulous time playing with water beads and I highly recommend them for sensory play. It is suggested that it’s for children over the age of 3 + and it’s a good idea to stick to this guide as they do look good enough to eat. These particular water beads are non-toxic, however, it would be very important to maintain active supervision at all times during play. It’s more fun that way anyway. 🙂

Would your child enjoy playing with water beads?

The following items can be purchased through Amazon by clicking the image.

Ebooks available featuring Laughing Kids Learn
Zero to Two: Book of Play    Three to Five Playful Preschool ad

Filed Under: 3 - 5 years, 5 - 10 years, Sensory Play, Uncategorized Tagged With: play, sensory

Comments

  1. lucy says

    November 1, 2014 at 5:16 pm

    hello i love these thing just wondering were you got them???
    lucy

    Reply
    • Kate says

      November 4, 2014 at 10:01 pm

      Hi Lucy!
      Which country are you located? I might be able to track some down for you. They can be purchased are many art stores but if you’re in Australia you might like to try this website – http://www.wholesalewaterbeads.com.au 🙂

      Reply
  2. Denise Johnson says

    March 1, 2016 at 6:48 pm

    Hey guys,
    If you look in any Asian grocery store, there is sago or tapioca seeds that you can boil up and colour, these work the same as the water beads but are completely safe for the younger children as they are food and the children love to play with it. Just be warned, they are very sticky. I am an early childhood educator and my nursery children 1+ LOVED the experience.

    Reply
    • Kate says

      March 2, 2016 at 12:57 pm

      Oh Denise, thank you! I’ve heard about tapioca seeds and had them on my ‘to try’ list for awhile. Thanks for the tip. Much appreciated. Keep your eye out because I’d love to try this out soon. 🙂

      Reply
  3. serah says

    March 24, 2018 at 2:58 am

    Look lovely

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Dino Slime! - picklebums.com says:
    February 10, 2015 at 2:46 pm

    […] Water – just a centimetre or two in the bottom of the bowl is all you need, add food colouring if you want. Water beads […]

    Reply

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Welcome
Hello and welcome!
My name is Kate and I am a mum to two little girls, Possum and Boo. We have lots of fun together learning with play at home and are pleased to share some of what we do with you.
Read my about page to find out more.

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