Sensory Play – A Tub of Bubbles

Sensory play doesn’t have to be a hugely messy activity, even if you set it up inside!

Today we set up a little tub of bubbles, just for one, or maybe two!

Sensory play is great for kids of all ages. It is one of those great ‘holistic’ play activities, which is just a fancy way of saying it can provide practice and exposure to so many different developmental skills and needs.

This simple tub of bubbles sensory play activity offers opportunities for practicing scientific thinking, hand-eye co-ordination, social skills and lots more. Plus it is a great calming activity and the perfect quick and easy option to engage a frazzled kiddo any time.

Find lots more easy sensory play ideas here.

How to Set up a Tub of Bubbles for Sensory Play

To make your own tub of bubbles you’ll need:

• a small tub
• some scoops, spoons, or containers
• some small sponges
• an old towel to cover your work surface to catch any drips
• a small amount of water
• some dish washing detergent, shampoo or liquid soap

We used an Ikea trofast tub for this activity as it’s the perfect size for one child to play at a table. And we used scoops saved from the laundry detergent and measuring cups saved from medication, but you can use any plastic containers, scoops or spoons. You can also use any kind of sponges for this, just cut them to a size that is small enough for little hands to squish.

To keep the mess under control I covered the table with an old towel to catch any drips and made sure I had a cloth handy for any wayward bubbles or water and for wiping hands.

I only added a really small amount of water to the tub, just barely enough to cover the bottom. Less water means less mess!

Then I squirted quite a bit of detergent into the tub, threw in the sponges and suggested that my big boy wet the sponges and squeeze them and see what happens…

He was delighted to see white foamy bubbles explode between his fingers! He squeezed and smooshed, and squashed the sponges until the whole tub was full of white foam.

We had a lovely time scooping and pouring and mixing the foam and because there was hardly any actual water involved there was no spills and not even much damp clothing.

Do your kids enjoy sensory play?

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