Ideas – something that parents and teachers simply can’t create for children. They need to discover or construct their own ideas. Developing new concepts or ideas is an active process.  It usually begins with child-centered inquiry, which focuses on the asking of questions that is relevant to the child. Developing ideas of one’s own add breadth and depth to learning. This is true even if the child’s initial ideas are inaccurate views of the world.

This particular activity is based on Alex’s current interest, triggered at school in his playgroup. One morning, Alex was playing in the classroom sink. He had cups and the teacher gave him a straw. He put water in the cup and started to blow bubbles. He LOVED it. The following week, he was back doing the same thing. This time he grabbed some bowls, cups and some straws. He saw a bottle of dishwashing liquid. Impulsively he poured some into the bowl, and he blew it with the straw. This time, he was surprised seeing so much bubbles coming out. His first reaction was, “WOW!!”. It was priceless to see his facial expression! He tried to blow the cup without the dishwashing liquid, then back again to the one with. He tried it again a few times and  decided to add more dishwashing liquid in both of the cup and bowl. He was able to concentrate for hours doing this activity.

Extending with his interest, I provide him with some bubble painting at home that night. Alex has been coughing a lot, therefore, I think this activity would beneficial for him. In addition to the speech development, this activity is great for their respiratory system too. When you blow bubbles, your mouth, lips and respiratory muscles engage in a style of breathing called “pursed-lip breathing.” This is characterized by a narrower mouth opening and also resembles the type of breath you use to blow out candles. A “pursed-lip” exhale more thoroughly expels the “stale” air in your lungs, leaving room for fresh inhaled air and better circulation in your respiratory system.

Note: I wouldn’t recommend this activity if your children are still putting things in their mouth and likely to ingest the soapy liquid.

Materials:

• Cups
• A lot of blobs of Paints (desired colours)
• about 100 ml Water (depending on how big is your cup)
• 3 drops of concentrated dishwashing liquid
• Oven tray to contain the mess
• Cardboard paper
• Some Straws

Instructions:

1. Pour a few blob of paint into the cup.
2. Add a few drops of concentrated dishwashing liquid and some water.
3. Provide the cups in an oven tray to contain the mess and a straw
4. Let your child blow and see the effects of blowing the mixture.
5. Once it raised to the top, put the cardboard paper on top of it, it will make the bubble print on it.