Lessons Learnt Journal has grown astoundingly this year. I am most grateful, but there’s always more to learn. I have met some wonderfully generous bloggers and asked one, “What in your mind makes a good blog?” Her answer, “I think a successful blog is one that meets the needs of its community so look closely at who your community are and ask yourself, “What keeps this person awake at night? How can I help them solve that problem/challenge?”

I’m still reflecting; still working it out.

Here’s what I love to do: share stuff that helps young families. In my daily grind as a mother of four under five, my challenges are many. When I find something that works, something that we enjoy, something that is helpful – I want to shout it out from my rooftop!

I know that life is complicated; and the answer is not to skill up and solve. I don’t want to reduce life, especially life with young children, into some sort of poster, where all things look wonderful and fun – because that’s simply a lie. Having said that though, I have discovered that some things are so simple, and so fun; and I love to share such wonderful things.

Bubble Game: Bubbles in a Bowl

If you ever have young children in your care and you’re strapped for a simple activity that is super easy to set up, this bubble game is all you need.

Materials:

• Bowl
• Straw
• Detergent or bubble bath
• Water
• Towel

How to Play:

Fill your bowl with a small amount of water and detergent or bubble bath. Give your child a straw and let them blow bubbles. The more they blow, the taller the tower of bubbles will be.

Mr E (2yo) loves blowing giant bubbles and popping them. He giggled so much the first time we played this, I couldn’t resist joining him in this bubble game. We made the most gigantic bubble tower. So simple. So fun!

If you have a couple of children playing, you could have a competition to see who could make the tallest bubble tower. Or perhaps after blowing a tower, set a time and see who can pop the most bubbles. There are so many creative possibilities with this bubble game. We would love to hear how you played.

After more short and simple play?

Or perhaps bubbles are all the rage. Check out our:

• Do It Yourself Bubble Shooter
• Art with Bubbles
• Baby Bath Bubble Solution
• DIY Bubble Mix Recipe
• Bubbalicious Spring Greetings

The post Bubble Game: Bubbles in a Bowl by Pauline appeared first on Lessons Learnt Journal.

Do It Yourself Bubble Shooter

 
(A version of this post was originally published on KidsActivitiesBlog.com)

 
A bubble shooter: a brilliant mechanism combining bubbles and the act of shooting. If you want to capture my boys attention and have them happily playing outdoors, a bubble shooter is the answer.

 
This Do It Yourself Bubble Shooter was borne out of desperation. At one time we had many bubble wands. They have since disappeared into their secret hiding places somewhere in our garden. No matter, this Do It Yourself Bubble Shooter is so easy to make that any home without bubble wands will probably never have to buy another bubble wand again.

 
To make your Do It Yourself Bubble Shooter, you’ll need some straws and rubber bands. Take a bunch of straws together and tie them together with a rubber band. If you don’t have rubber bands within easy reach, use some masking tape or sticky tape to combine the straws. You can also cut straws to a shorter length; this may be very useful if you don’t have many straws and many children.

 
Mix up a batch of bubble solution, (we love our DIY baby bath bubble solution), and blow away.

 
This play is really satisfying for children as they make lots of bubbles with each breath.

 
You can easily extend and vary this play by :

– Making some bubble art;

– Lining up some toys and shooting bubbles at them;

– Playing musical bubbles (only shoot bubbles when the music is on);

– Counting the number of bubbles you’ve blown, (you’ll need to be quick);

– Having a competition and see who can blow the furthest bubble.

 
Sitting on the garden step with your brother; blowing bubbles through your bubble shooter; enjoying the warm sunlight; enjoying one another’s presence; and all this done whilst you’re still in your pyjamas.

 
Don’t overlook the simple joys of life.

 
Wishing you and your family happy bubble shooting.

N&M: 4 years, 2 months
E: 2 years, 1 month

August 2012

The post Do It Yourself Bubble Shooter by Pauline appeared first on Lessons Learnt Journal.

Art with Bubbles

 
(A version of this post was originally published on KidsActivitiesBlog.com.)

 
Blowing bubbles is the bread and butter of childhood memories. It’s calming and fun. Add some colour to the bubbles and make some beautiful easy art.

 
You will need large sheet(s) of white paper; masking tape; food colouring; bubble soap and bubble blowing wands. (See our DIY Bubble Mix Recipe or DIY Baby Bath Bubble Solution recipe for bubble soap).

 
Set up the invitation to play:

 
Tape a large sheet of paper somewhere so that it’s at your child’s height. (I placed our broom across a gap between our garden hedges and taped paper onto the hanging broom).

 
Make coloured bubble solution by mixing a small amount of food colouring into the bubble soap. Be warned that food colouring may stain, so it may be wise for children to wear protective clothing or clothing that you don’t mind getting stained.

 
The stronger the bubble solution, the better; (or you will end up with many ‘spray’ splats from failed bubbles).

 
This is a great group activity. The boys really enjoyed working together making art; that alone is priceless.

 
N, M and E learnt that the closer they stood to the paper, the easier it was for the bubbles to land on the paper. Some bubbles popped quickly once they touched the paper; other more stubborn bubbles required popping – what a joyful task that was!

The post Art with Bubbles by Pauline appeared first on Lessons Learnt Journal.

Here are two new discovery bottles to add to our collection.

Bubbles Discovery Bottle:

Water
Dishwashing Liquid
Yellow powered tempera paint
Coloured matchsticks

Dancing Yarn Discovery Bottle:

Water
Coloured yarn
Coloured beads

Little E made up a tenpin bowling game. He lined up our discovery bottles, found a soft toy ball and in true Little E fashion (with much influence from his older twin brothers to be sure), he threw the soft toy ball at the bottles with all his might.

Because the ball was so soft and the bottles quite heavy, most remained standing. MUAH HA HA  HA! Not for long! Reminiscent of the mighty Hulk, Little E got in amongst the bottles and whoosh! With a few swings of his little arms the bottles conceded victory to Little E.

Check out our other discovery bottles.

E: 1 year, 7 months

This post was shared with

It’s Playtime
Play Academy
Sunday Showcase

The post DIY Bubbles & Dancing Yarn Discovery Bottles by Pauline appeared first on Lessons Learnt Journal.