Your children will love playing with Orbeez. If you have not tried them yet, then you should. Orbeez are affordable, colorful, therapeutic, environmentally friendly, and super fun to play with. In this post, I share with you a few of the fun simple things I did with my children that you can do with your children as they play with these water beads.
If you are wondering about whether these are safe for your child to play with I found this great post that gives you all the details you may want to know about orbeez. The link is provided at the end so once you are done feel free to check it out!
Orbeez Activities For You To Try
Let’s jump into the fun! So as I mentioned earlier orbeez, also called water babies or water beads. They are super fun to play with. Along with your supervision, you can try these six simple activities below.
Please Note: Parental supervision is important while children play with orbeez. Using these is your personal decision. These water beads can be bouncy, and slippery and their bright colors can tempt smaller toddlers to put them in their mouths.
1. Watch Your Orbeez Grow Science Experiment
Orbeez are small circle beads that grow when placed in water. My five-year-old son enjoys the science of watching them grow bigger and bigger. We used hot water, warm water, room temperature water, and ice-cold water. As they grew we timed them to see how long each took to develop to their full size. I am certain that your child will be as excited as mine was to see the orbeez change as they grew into a circle and some into an oval.
We were also curious to find out if orbeez grew in other liquids so along with varying temperatures of water, we tried oil, water mixed with dishwashing liquid, juice, and milk.
Here are a few things we noticed as we did this simple experiment
1. As the orbeez grew they changed shape many times
2. Some colors grew faster than others
3. Some grew bigger than others
4. The temperature of the water made a difference in how fast they grew if they grew at all.
5. These water beads grew in some of the other liquids we tried
Don’t just take my word for it try it today and tell us how long yours took to grow in the comments below.
Cool FATHER’S DAY CRAFT FOR KIDS
2. Color Sorting Using Orbeez
Orbeez are not just fun and affordable they are available in many colors. Colors can be bought separately but are mostly available in mixed packets. Some colors include blue, green, yellow, purple, orange, pink, red, turquoise, and much more. This is what makes them perfect for color sorting games.
Here are two water bead color sorting games you can try with your children.
For the first game, you’ll need, a plastic spoon and a few plastic cups, bowls, or whatever container you have available. I reused these empty ice cream cups that are perfect for playtime learning, after eating that delicious ice cream. Have a container for every color you choose for your color sorting game. Depending on the age of your child you can have a greater number of colors. Assign one color to each cup or container you have. For smaller toddlers, show the child which color goes into which container. Once they get the hang of it they will love sorting the colors. Make sure to give them a high five and you did it once they get it right.
For older children like my five-year-old son, use a timer and have the challenge to see who can get the most sorted before the time ends. They will love it!
This second orbeez game is great for older children as well. Choose two colors, using a straw having a little competition to see who can sort the colors using their breath, by pulling them with the straw and adding them to different containers before the time ends.
This game is extremely exciting and creates great competition. It can also be used for children and youth ministries. Also, ensure there are just orbeez with no extra water that can enter the straw during this fun activity. I have included a short home video for you to see how it goes.
Don’t take my word for it try it and comment below
3. Orbeez sensory play with water
My daughter is very fond of playing with orbeez while they are in the water. This one can be a bit messy so be sure to place your bowl or tub of orbeez on a large towel. You can also use your bathtub or go outside on the grass if you can. However, if you are using a bathtub be very careful to keep the plug in so water beads can’t escape into your pipeline.
I like to use slightly different temperatures of water in two tubs. Try warm water as in just above room temperature and cool as a glass of water you will be able to drink quickly without getting brain freeze. She loves it. Putting her little hand into them surely pleases her as her face often expresses. It’s a great way to help children have peaceful, fun moments that exclude media and technology.
4. Bottles and Balloon Orbeez Sensory Play
Another great way that my children love to play with orbeez is by putting them into different transparent bottles. You can recycle bottles and fill them with water beads. To increase the fun, add water, oil, or water and oil mixed with as many water beads as you desire. They are great for baby sensory development and older children. We have also tried putting them in balloons. Each one creates a different reaction. Adding them to clear plastic bottles your child can roll the bottle around, watch the orbeez float in the water, watch light pass through them, shake them, and so forth.
Do be sure to have a good seal on those bottles when shaking them. I would encourage you to even add some duct tape around the top of the bottle to seal it tight.
If you have not tried this fun paper spinner yet do check it out.
DIY Paper Spinners For Children
You can have fun putting orbeez into a balloon, blowing it up, and doing balloon shaking as well. The sound effects are fabulous. Adding them to the balloon and simply tying them is also another great way to play with these water beads. It’s so much fun. I know I used the word fun a hundred times but that’s the best way to describe these water beads. Your young kids will love it. You will love it too. But don’t take my word for it try it and comment below.
5. Toy hunt among orbeez
Let’s go a race, mix several toys into your tub of orbeez and see who can get them out first. Not in a mood to race that’s ok your toddler will still love the excitement of having their hands mixed in with these wet, slippery orbeez and toys. I like to use toys they can fill with orbeez and pour from one to the next. It’s great for motor skill-building.
On a good day, they will sit for hours playing with them. Do be sure to use waterproof toys, and look out for when those quick hands try to put a battery-operated toy into the orbeez. Do keep these far away.
6. Watch Orbeez Shrink Science Experiment Challenge
So just as orbeez grow when added to water. The absence of water causes them to shrink. We tried a little experiment to see how quickly orbeez can shrink.
We also wanted to discover what other ways these water beads could be shrunk. So we left some on the kitchen counter without water, we placed some in salt water, we put some in vinegar, and we put some in the sun which is the recommended way if you desire to reuse them. After we tried these here is what we found…
Oops, I can’t tell you, try it and tell us what you notice in the comments below after all this is an orbeez shrink challenge. Do let us know what other liquids you used to shrink your orbeez and what else you noticed as you try the orbeez shrink challenge.
I hope you will have lots of fun trying these with your children. Do leave a comment below and on Pinterest when you do. As always I greatly appreciate you reading this post. Look out for more fun affordable ideas you can try with your children and family.
Here’s that Orbeez Post i Mentioned!
Do check out this post that gives answers to several questions you may have about orbeez.
