Water beads are a pretty awesome sensory play option for both kids and adults! For those who haven’t used them before, they come as a dried bead that you let soak in water for about 6 hours until it expands to the size of about a marble. They are great to just throw into a sensory bin to play with, but here are some more fun and unique ways to play with water beads.
Science experiment play
We love to use our science experiment kit just about every day. So, we went ahead and busted it out to scoop up our “molecules” and mix up some “chemical reactions.”
Frozen Water Beads
After we had a fun filled day of water bead play, I dumped them into a Tupperware bowl, covered them with water, and let it freeze over night. In the morning, I placed the block of ice in a larger bin to catch any melted liquid. I also set out some warm water that was colored with food coloring (to add some extra fun) and some pipettes.
The kids then squirted the warm water all over the ice block and watched as the water beads were freed.
They also loved using the warmth from their hands to melt the ice and free the water beads.
Side note: Once the water beads were free, they disintegrated into water bead chunks. So, you won’t be able to reuse the water beads after they have been frozen.
Water Beads Suncatcher & Sensory Bag
This was a fun mess-free way of playing with water beads. Simply place the water beads in a ziplock bag, add about 2 tablespoons of water, squeeze all of the air from the bag before sealing it, and tape it to a window. You don’t have to add the water, but it did make the beads at the bottom of the bag that were touching the water look different. This just adds some contrast within the bag which means more sensory fun. My kids loved squishing the beads around and the warm sensation they felt when the beads started to heat up from the sun.
Water Beads Color Sorting
Water beads can also be used as an educational tool. We used ours to practice color sorting and counting to high numbers. I just laid out different colored sheets of construction paper, placed a clear cup on each, and set the container of water beads in the middle. My 2 year old then had to work to sort the different colored water beads into the cup sitting on the matching colored paper. While doing this, she counted each bead as high as she could count.
Ocean Themed Sensory Bin
Another great idea for water beads is to make a themed sensory bin! For my kids, I made this awesome ocean themed water beads sensory bin but you could make it whatever theme you’d like. You just let the water beads soak in water overnight to expand. Then, throw in whatever figurines you have available. Here are some more ideas for themed water beads sensory bins:
- Ocean animals
- Farm animals
- Dinosaurs
- Toy cars or figurines
- Superhero Action Figures
- Baking equipment (bowls, spoons, spatulas, cups, etc)
- Foam letters or numbers
- Halloween themed (fake eyeballs, spiders, witches caldron, etc)
- Easter themed (Easter eggs, plastic bunnies and carrots, etc)
- Holiday themed (I love going to the Dollar Tree to find some holiday themed plastic toys to put into our sensory bins)
- Or just set the water beads out and invite your child to choose what toys they’d like to add to the bin to play with. The possibilities are endless!
DIY Water Beads Stress Ball
My kids loved squeezing and fidgeting with this do-it-yourself stress ball. It was so easy to make too. Here’s how:
- While I was setting up a water beads sensory bin to begin soaking for my kids, I dropped about 15 of the small dried water beads into a balloon
- Then I wrapped the mouth of the balloon around my faucet and filled the balloon with about 3 tbsp of water (this is an estimate since I couldn’t measure it out)
- Then I tied the balloon closed and let it sit over night (at least 6 hours) to let the beads soak up all the water
- Once the beads expanded, we had fun squeezing and smooshing the water beads inside.
This is a great stress release and fidget toy for kids!
I hope you all enjoy these fun and unique ways to play with water beads!
