You blow. They chase. That is the whole thing and it works every time.
For ages12 mo - 6y
Time available20 min
Prep1 min
Mess
Noise
YouYes, I will join in
The most dependable outdoor activity for under-fives, and it needs one bottle of bubble mixture.
What you need
bubble mixture
a wand
How to do it
Go outside, or somewhere with a washable floor.
Blow a stream of bubbles low and let them chase and pop them.
Try blowing one very large bubble and everyone watches it silently.
Count how many they pop before the batch lands.
Let them try blowing, badly, for the last five minutes.
Most activity lists ignore the things that actually decide it
Tracking a bubble across a space and timing a hand to meet it is real visual tracking practice, which underpins reading later. Blowing bubbles themselves is also useful breath control for speech development.
Adapting by age
1 to 2 yearsSit them down and blow bubbles towards their hands rather than expecting a chase.
6 to 9 yearsMake your own mixture with washing-up liquid and a little sugar and test the recipes.
Keep it safe
Bubble mixture is slippery on hard floors and stings eyes. Do it outside where possible.