I saw this on Gift of Curiosity over the weekend and I couldn’t believe we didn’t already have them. They are water beads that most people use for flower arrangements and watering plants. You soak about one tablespoon in 10 cups of water overnight. I added a few drops of food coloring so these would have a blue tint. I laid down a plastic table cloth, some towels, assorted containers and spoons and let the girls have at it. (It lasted about 5 minutes before they decided they needed more items of their choice to scoop and fill)
It didn’t take long for me to be offered blueberry ice cream, blueberry soup and blueberry shakes prepared by the girls. Amelie kept saying, “Don’t really eat it Mama.”
This was really fun for the girls. Nadia liked how they felt wet when you put your hands in, but she didn’t get all wet playing with them. She also did several experiments to see how high they would bounce (pretty much like a rubber bouncy ball) and how many times you could bounce them before they came apart. Amelie had a lot of fun pretending they were various foods, but ended up trying to destroy the entire batch to feel them squish between her hands.
These can be messy, but they are fun and I give them a thumbs up. We will definitely be playing with them again because I didn’t even have a chance to do the math games I wanted to try with them.