Dolphins are known for their playfulness as they dive and splash in the water and ride the waves. Who better to take playful inspiration from than our dolphin friends! Among the many playful behaviors observed in dolphins is their delight in creating and swimming through bubbles. Bubbles, like other round objects are one of the many things that naturally inspire feelings of joy in humans, too. What better way to play in this season of joy! To enjoy your own dolphin bubble play, all you need is some liquid dish soap, water and the okay to play!
This activity is featured in our December calendar. If you do not yet have your free copy, get it here.
The Guide
Learn about dolphins.
Watch a video about bottlenose dolphins from National Geographic Kids. To get kids inspired for bubble play, watch this video of a dolphin making and playing with bubble rings.
Communicate like dolphins.
Dolphins communicate with each other by making sounds like clicking and whistling. Try to make clicking sounds together. How many sounds can your child make with their mouth?
Make bubbles like dolphins.
Say, “Do you know that dolphins like to play in the water, just like us? Some dolphins even like to play with bubbles! They use their blowhole to make bubble rings and they like to swim through them. Doesn't that sound like fun?!”
Offer your child a bin or bowl of water and some liquid dish soap. Ask, “Do you think we could use these materials to make our own bubble water?” Welcome your child to experiment with adding different amounts of soap and stirring it up with their hands. Notice what happens when the soap and water mix and how the bubbly water feels on their hands.
Play with bubbles!
Enjoy some joyful bubble play together and invite your child to invent their own way of experimenting with their homemade bubble juice. Here are some of our favorite ways to enjoy bubble play:
Enjoy watching bubbles move and savor the sight as the colors swirl on their surfaces. Which bubbles are the biggest? smallest?
Listen for the tiny "pop" sounds.
Feel the juice on your hand and the delicate skin of each bubble.
Add a cup or spoon to the mix and try scooping bubbles, transferring them from one container to another, or spreading them out over a cookie sheet or other flat surface.
Use a whisk or spoon to stir the soapy water and notice together how the mixture changes.
Use a straw to blow into the bubbly water. Invite younger kids to practice blowing out in the air first (like dolphins blow air out their blowhole) before using their straw in the bubbly water.
Take a bunch of bubbles in your hands and clap to make it snow!
Make your own bubble wands by making a circle out of a pipe cleaner and twisting it onto the end of a stick. Use the wand to make and catch bubbles.
Science has shown us that there are patterns to what make us feel joyful, including bright colors, stirring music, time in nature and things that are round. Playing with round bubbles is a perfect entry point to inspire joy and experimentation.
Although joy is something that we experience in the here and now, and may last mere moments, it impacts our bodies and our minds in lasting ways. Every time kids experience joy, the pathways in their brains that are dedicated to feeling this positive emotion grow stronger. The more our kids learn where to find joy, the more they can benefit. Read more.
By creativity, we mean the ability to both imagine original ideas or solutions to problems and actually do what needs to be done to make them happen. So, to help kids develop creativity, we parents need to nurture kids' imaginations and give them lots of chances to design, test, redesign and implement their ideas.
"Creativity is as important now in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status.”
Why, you ask? For one, it is through being creative that a person is able to get senses, sensibility and spirit working together. Simply put, without creativity, we don't think our kids will live a full life.
On a more practical level, it's also the means by which humans of all ages make an impact on the world and other people around them. A lot of heavy stuff is going to go down in our kids' lifetime, and their generation will need to imagine and implement solutions to big and very complicated problems. Although our kids are still far from public office or the boardroom, today's political and business leaders worldwide are already pointing to creativity as the most important leadership quality for the future.
Although years from the art studio or design lab, little kids can learn to think and act creatively if you give them time and the right practice.
Curiosity
Category:
Thinking Skills
What does it mean to develop Curiosity?
Curiosity means the ability and habit to apply a sense of wonder and a desire to learn more. Curious people try new things, ask questions, search for answers, relish new information, and make connections, all while actively experiencing and making sense of the world. To us, curiosity is a child’s ticket to engaging fully in learning and, ultimately, in life.
Why does it matter?
As a parent, this skill is, perhaps, the easiest to grasp and has the clearest connection to a young children’s learning. We all want my children to wonder, explore and drive their own learning and, better yet, to experience the world fully. Most teachers would agree that the curious children so often seem more attentive, involved and naturally get the most out of time in school. Even the research suggests that being curious is a driver of higher performance throughout one's life, as much if not more than IQ or test scores.
Sensory
Category:
Body Skills
What is Sensory Development?
Although some scientists classify as many as 20 senses, when childhood educators talk about "developing the senses," we typically mean developing the five standard senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. In addition to honing these senses, educators care about sensory integration, which is the ability to take in, sort out, process and make use of information gathered from the world around us via the senses.
Why does it matter?
The better kids are able to tune and integrate their senses, the more they can learn. First, if their senses are sharper, the information kids can gather should be of greater quantity and quality, making their understanding of the world more sophisticated. Further, until the lower levels of the brain can efficiently and accurately sort out information gathered through the senses, the higher levels cannot begin to develop thinking and organization skills kids need to succeed. Senses also have a powerful connection to memory. Children (and adults) often retain new learning when the senses are an active part of the learning.
So, if kids have more sensory experiences, they will learn more, retain better and be better able to think at a higher level. Makes the days they get all wet and dirty in the sandbox seem better, doesn't it?
Age: 0 to 8
Time: Under 1 hour
Materials: bin, water, liquid dish soap, reusable straw, kitchen whisk
