Child's Play 101 - The Wonder of Water Beads

We love water beads!  We play with them weekly, often daily.  It's something both of my older boys request on a regular basis.  We tried them for the very first time at the beginning of this year.  We've been hooked ever since.  You can read all about our first experience with water beads.  

This is the seventh post in my Child's Play 101 series.  Be sure to check out any of the previous posts you may have missed:  Sensory Bins, Playdough Basics, Messy Play, Water Exploration, Fun with Food, and Things that GLOW!

Before I share all the wonderful ideas my fellow blogging friends have for water bead play, let me tell you a few basics I have learned from my experiences.

Water beads are polymers used to keep floral arrangements hydrated.  They provide incredible sensory exploration.  They are fun in a bin on their own or with added accessories.  They make a great prop for small world play in contained bin.  These beads truly are fun for every age.  Every single time my boys play with them I end up dropping what I'm doing and joining in the fun.  Water beads are surprisingly relaxing.

There are a few things you should know about the safety of water beads before getting your own.

1.  As with anything we play with, I have my boys wash their hands when they are done.  Water beads are non toxic, but they aren't intended for ingestion.  Keep a close watch on toddlers.  If swallowed water beads can swell up and cause a blockage or worse.

2.  Some brands, specifically the ones purchased from Wal-Mart, have a warning on the bag saying they contain a chemical that has been linked to cancer.  Out of curiosity I hydrated a bag from Wal-Mart, and in a separate bin I hydrated a bag of crystal soil from Amazon.  The package from Wal-Mart turned the water the color of the beads, and after awhile the beads were mostly clear.  The crystal soil beads retained their color.  From what I've read, it isn't the polymer themselves but the added color that contains the chemical. For this reason I am not comfortable buying water beads from Wal-Mart.  Also, regardless of where I purchase my beads I rinse them in a colander before letting the boys handle them.

3.  I avoid buying purple water beads which have been rumored to contain the chemical R-49.  

4.  Another concern with water beads is that it could cause silicosis.  Before you run screaming for the hills wondering why on earth any loving mother would allow her children to play with something that could cause silicosis please note:  In order for water beads to cause silicosis they would have to be smashed to dust and inhaled in large quantities.  I don't anticipate anyone smashing water beads to dust for child's play, so this isn't something that concerns me.

I'm not an expert, but I have done a lot of research (AKA Googling) on this subject since my boys enjoy water beads so much.  My bottom line:  Wash hands, rinse water beads well, avoid indigestion or inhalation.  Sounds easy enough, right?

Helpful information about water beads:

1.  Water beads can be messy.  They are not the easiest thing to contain.  They slip and bounce.  My suggestion is to play with them outside or in a large bin.  I personally am not too bothered by the potential mess water beads leave behind.  Since the babies became mobile I restrict water bead play to a room upstairs where the little guys aren't allowed.  This way if we miss a stray bead we don't have to worry about little hands grabbing it and taste testing.  The good news if a stray bead or two goes unnoticed?  They will dry out after a day or two and vacuum up easily.  If you have a pet or small child use caution where you play with these beads.  Dried water beads could be swallowed the swell after being ingested.

2,  If you have never played with water beads before know that they come hard and tiny in the package.  It takes hours and a lot of water for water beads to reach their full size.  Lately my oldest is obsessed with watching they hydration process.  We've discovered that leaving them in a bin of water overnight produces the best results for play.  This is good to know if you have a young one who doesn't like to wait.  Prepare the bin the night before!

3.  Water beads can be purchased at craft stores in the floral section.  As I mentioned above, Wal-Mart also carries them.  I once purchased them from Dollar Tree.  They came fully hydrated in small plastic containers.  Dollar Tree only carries clear water beads as far as I know.  My personal favorite brand is crystal soil from Amazon.  I've also used Orbeez which are intended for play.  They are more expensive, but they did seem to last a short while longer.  Orbeez also sells many accessories to enjoy along with water beads.

4.  One small bag doesn't go a long way.  I would suggest a minimum of ten bags for a nice full sensory bin.

Tips for Storage:

1.  Like I said, we've experimented with water beads A LOT.  I've tried every tip and trick known to get the most life out of a package of water beads.  If left in a bin for a few days water beads can get moldy.  If left outside they can get slimey.

2.  To dehydrate for use another day I've had the best luck rinsing the water beads in a colander to get oils from our hands off of them then laying flat to dry out on a paper towel for a few days.  This method worked well, but without fail every single time I used this method my big boys would request water bead play the very day I was finally able to put the dehydrated beads away.

3.  I discovered that water beads will last for over a month if left in an open bin full of water.  Every few days I add some water to keep the water beads fully hydrated.  I add enough water to keep the water line just above the beads. This keeps the mold away, and our water beads are always ready for play.  I'm not sure how long water beads could last with this method, because we used the batch we had for over a month in the play pool over the summer.  After being in the pool I dumped them out into the grass, because they were all slimey.  

I just gave you a whole lot of info, and you might be wondering if water beads are really so complex, and if they are worth the effort?  First of all, they don't have to be a hassle.  At $0. 50 per bag of crystal soil you really don't need to keep a hydrated bin out for months to get your money's worth.  After a week or two I think it's safe to say your money was well spent.

There are many reasons to play with water beads.  They are great for hand eye coordination, sensory stimulation, pincer grasp, fine motor skills and tracking.  Discussion during water bead plays leads to vocabulary expansion.  The opportunities for math and science play with water beads are endless.  

Okay, enough with the details, let's get on to the play ideas!  Thanks to a wonderful group of kid bloggers (who you can follow on this collaborative Pinterest board), I have compiled a list of 35 ways to play, imagine, learn, and explore with water beads.

Doesn't this Yellow Sensory Tub from Carrots are Orange make you want to go out and buy water beads today?

A simple way to spice up a sensory bin full of water beads is by adding a few glow sticks.

Nurture Store put together a Space Sensory Tub for her children.

Check out these GIANT water beads over at CAUTION! Twins at Play.

One of our most favorite ways to use water beads is by making them GLOW.

To enjoy the sensory play water beads provide, little set up is required!  The Golden Gleam shows us how easy it is to set up a sensory bin in the sink full of water beads and a few extras.  (Use caution to keep any beads from going down the drain.)

Water beads are a great addition to small world play bins like our Ocean Wonders Sensory Bin.

Taming the Goblin used them in a Beach Playscape.

The Imagination Tree created a Seaside Sensory Bin for her little ones.

Glittering Muffins has a post that went viral thanks to the unique aspect of the water beads used.  They are SQUARE!  Be sure to read the post for yourself to see just how cool these are.

There is something powerful about the combination of water beads and light.  We combined water beads and glass gems for a discussion about textures over our light box.

No Twiddle Twaddle made some sweet Fireworks in a Bottle using glow sticks, water beads and other cool supplies.  I pinned them to try out with my boys next Independence Day.  (If I can wait that long.)

I love this Bottle Array Famiglia and Seoul set up for her son to work on his fine motor skills.

Reading Confetti set up a game for her children with water beads and Easter eggs.  It looks like fun!

For a new twist on this sensory tool, Dirt and Boogers combined water beads and shaving cream.

Two Big, Two Little took the shaving cream idea a step further.  You can read about it HERE.

Children learn and retain information better when multiple senses are stimulated.  We enjoyed a Water Bead Subtraction game to introduce basic addition and subtraction to my oldest son.

One of my favorite aspects of water beads is the color mixing.  Little Moments shows us how they discovered An Accidental Rainbow.

Teach Preschool demonstrates one of our favorite ways to explore water beads, using clear beads in water.  When they are in water you can't see them, so you have to feel for them.

I wrote a guest post for Growing a Jeweled Rose on freezing water beads.

Rainy Day Mum used green water beads with her tot to aid in teaching the Life Cycle of a Frog.

Not everyone is a fan of water beads, and Taming the Goblin shares why.

Smiling Like Sunshine got clever with a few props to add to the water bead sensory fun.

One of our favorite ways to enjoy water beads is in water.

Growing a Jeweled Rose let her little one Paint with Water Beads.

I love this post about The Science of Water Beads by Nurture Store.

We love combing water beads and light.  Last Easter we included some Easter eggs and submersible lights in our water beads sensory bin.

My youngest boys love water beads as much as the older two.  Here are suggestions for introducing water beads to babies.  *Please use caution and remember that these should NOT be ingested.*

We love exploring with water beads and piping like Fit Kids Clubhouse.

I love the way Creekside Learning approached their first experience with water beads by making observations and forming a hypothesis.  There is even a downloadable worksheet available for free. 

You know how we love messy fun!  Make, Do and Friend combined water beads and Oobleck for a messy combo that is sure to delight little ones.

Eventually water beads start to fall apart and get goopy.  For a fun way to extend the life of this sensory tool why not explore them in the grass?

Or you can blend up your old water beads and make some goo like Learn with Play at Home.

For more ideas or to link up some of your own there is an open linky at Fit Kids Clubhouse.

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