Joy

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Waterbeads... Who Knew?

Yesterday, we played with waterbeads. I have read about them on various blogs and thought they looked kind of fun.  I found some at Walmart for $2 a pack. (In the floral department) I got 5 different colors so I would have plenty for a Puggles activity and then totally put off using them til now. They start out very, very tiny and hard....

but after soaking in water for a few hours, they plump up and become smooth, slippery, bouncy balls of jelly that are irresistible to chubby, little hands


Joy enjoyed them much more than I thought she would.  It was supposed to be a Claire activity but Joy dug right in and couldn't stop touching them.


After a while. this started to happen so she had to go inside for a nap and sister kept on playing (alone...outside....by herself!!! Miracles never cease.)


They feel like fish eggs!
 

The best part about these beads is that if you set them out on a cookie sheet in the sun, they will dehydrate back to their tiny original size so they can be stored away and played with again and again.

I did take them to Puggles last night and they were a huge hit!  There were quite a few squashed ones by the end of the evening and I think most of the night we spent picking up and chasing after the tiny balls but the Puggles loved them.

The colors got all mixed up last night and so many were on the floor that they look a little dirty.  This afternoon I plan on filling up Claire's wading pool and throwing them all in so she can play, clean and sort them before we let them dry out again.  It should be hours of fun for Claire.