• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Start Here
  • Homeschooling
  • Shop
  • Member Log In
  • Cart

Gift of Curiosity

Sparking children's creativity and learning

  • Holidays
  • Seasons
  • Subject Areas
  • Themes
  • Age
Home
  • Blog
    • Holidays
    • Seasons
    • Subject Areas
    • Themes
    • Age
  • Start Here
  • Homeschool
  • Shop
  • Member Log In
  • Cart

Water bead sensory play

6 Comments Preschool, Kindergarten

Sharing is caring - thank you for spreading the word!

940 shares
  • Share30
  • Twitter
  • Email

This post may contain affiliate ads at no cost to you. See my disclosures for more information.

If you are looking for a new sensory play activity to delight your kids, look no further than water beads. Water beads are a crystal polymer that start off as tiny, hard little pellets. After soaking in water and absorbing more than 100 times their weight in water, they grow into gel-like beads that provide a delightful play experience.

Although water beads were designed to be used in floral displays, they are non-toxic and environmentally safe, making them a wonderful addition to the sensory play of children who will not put them in their mouths. My kids had so much fun exploring the water bead sensory bin I put together for them. And I love that they got to practice their fine motor skills at the same time!

Water bead sensory play | Preschool sensory play ideas | Sensory bins for kids || Gift of Curiosity

If you want to play with water beads, you need to plan at least one day ahead to give the beads time to hydrate. I decided to soak our water beads in water dyed blue in order to give the water beads a blue color.

The next day, while the kids were napping, I set up an invitation to play by preparing:

    • a bin filled with water beads
    • several plastic bowls
    • small measuring spoons
    • tiny cups
    • scissor scoops

Note that I put all of this on top of a shower curtain to help contain the mess.

Water bead sensory play || Gift of Curiosity

When the kids saw the sensory bin, they immediately wanted to dive in. They scooped the beads with their hands.

Water bead sensory play || Gift of Curiosity

They scooped the beads with cups and bowls.

Water bead sensory play - scooping water beads with cups and bowls || Gift of Curiosity

They scooped the beads with the scissor scoops.

Water bead sensory play - scooping water beads with scissor scoops || Gift of Curiosity

Then they got creative, and decided to start serving me some “blueberries” to eat.

Water bead sensory play - serving "blueberries" || Gift of Curiosity

They filled their bowls and cups over and over again for me to eat, laughing while I pretended to spill them back into the bin or claim they were yucky.

Water bead sensory play - serving "blueberries" || Gift of Curiosity

Finally, we got a neat little science lesson out of the activity as well, when we noticed that the beads looked different depending on which color bowl they were in.

Water bead sensory play || Gift of Curiosity

How will your kids play with water beads?

Water bead sensory play | Preschool sensory play ideas | Sensory bins for kids || Gift of Curiosity

More sensory play resources

For more activities that will delight the senses, see my Sensory Play page and my Sensory Play Pinterest board. 

Follow Katie @ Gift of Curiosity’s board Sensory Play on Pinterest.

Filed Under: Preschool, Kindergarten, Fine Motor Tagged With: water beads

You May Also Enjoy These Posts

Easter SudokuHalloween Printables BundleCoffee filter art

Reader Interactions

6 Comments

  1. Georgina @ Craftulate

    May 3, 2013 at 1:02 pm

    Wow I love those scissor scoops! Just perfect for this fun activity!
    Hopping over from For the Kids Friday.

    Reply to this comment
  2. Beth

    May 3, 2013 at 4:10 pm

    That looks like so much fun. I am inspired to make a sensory box.

    Reply to this comment
    • Katie

      May 3, 2013 at 7:57 pm

      My kids always have so much fun with them – simple or complex, sensory bins are great!

      Reply to this comment
  3. Julie

    May 4, 2013 at 10:26 am

    This is a nice post. I’ve seen water beads mentioned before, but never really knew what they were. I like the way they looked different in different colored bowls.

    Reply to this comment
  4. Louanne

    May 5, 2013 at 9:13 pm

    WOW! I am so excited about these and I can’t believe I haven’t seen or heard of them before. My girls LOVE stuff like this and I am ordering them through your amazon link tonight. Thanks.

    Reply to this comment
    • Katie

      May 5, 2013 at 9:19 pm

      I’m sure your girls will love playing with them as much as my kids do. They are just so fun to squish and run your hands through!

      Reply to this comment

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Hey there, I’m Katie

I help parents who are transitioning into homeschooling shed old mindsets and embrace their homeschooling superpowers so they can create a homeschool they love where their children will thrive.

Learn more about me and what I do HERE.

Hands-On

Get 10 ideas for easy, hands-on activities you can do with your kids TODAY to make learning more fun.

Check out these related products in the shop!

Toddler Skills Pack Bundle

Preschool Math Pack Bundle

Printables Pack Bundle

Measurement Activity Packs Bundle

Volcano Printables Bundle

Shop All Resources

  • Contact
  • About Me

Copyright © 2022 Gift of Curiosity  •  All Rights Reserved  •  Privacy  •  Terms of Use  •  Site Design by Emily White Designs

Posting....