[Playable from infancy] Fun DIY water play toy ideas
As it starts to get hot, it becomes the perfect season for water play.
Even without going out to a big pool, many families set up a vinyl pool in the bathroom or on the balcony at home and have fun.
Here are some handmade water-play companions and items that really come in handy at those times.
You can make them together with the kids, and the making process itself is fun too.
There’s no need to buy anything special—these are all things you can make with materials you already have at home, like scrap materials, milk cartons, and empty plastic bottles.
When you make something yourself, you grow attached to it, and the fun doubles!
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Homemade water play toy ideas that are fun for babies and toddlers (21–30)
Stretchy soap bubble
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Rouge’s Message (Kiki’s Delivery Service) – Carl Orrje Piano Ensemble
Here’s an idea for stretchy soap bubbles that lets you enjoy a unique, one-of-a-kind texture.
First, prepare a straw and a wet wipe.
Wrap the wet wipe around the tip and secure it with a rubber band.
Next, make a bubble solution by mixing water and dish soap, and pour it into a container.
Then dip the tip into the container and slowly lift it up.
You should see a chain of tiny bubbles appear, connected together.
The slightly sticky, mysterious look is really fun.
If you investigate why this happens, it can turn into a learning experience too.
Water gun made from a snack tube
You can make a great water gun using materials and tools you have around you! Here, we’ll introduce a water gun you can make using a snack tube.
First, make a hole in the center of the bottom of the tube.
Next, wrap the tip of a pair of chopsticks with cloth, temporarily secure it with a rubber band, then tightly wind twine over it to fasten it in place—that’s it! It’s also fun to decorate the tube with your favorite stickers.
With this water gun, kids can enjoy the sensation of drawing in water and pushing it out, and they can experiment with changing the water pressure.
Encourage children to try making this traditional-style water gun!
underwater soap bubbles
Here’s an idea for underwater bubbles that also leads to learning.
First, fill two cups with water and add a few drops of dish soap to each.
Mix well, then use a straw like a dropper to suck up the soapy water from one cup and drip it into the other.
You should see bubbles form under the water.
Try thinking about why this happens as you do it.
If the bubbles don’t form well, adjusting the amount of soap often helps.
Making bath bombs with candy molds
Fun to make, and a joy to use! Let me show you how to make bath bombs using candy molds.
You’ll need a dish or other container, a spoon, baking soda, citric acid, potato starch, essential oil, food coloring, water, and empty candy containers.
Anpanman gummy molds are so cute that it feels like a waste to throw them away, right? How about mixing the ingredients and hand-making your own Anpanman bath bombs? If you make them with kids, it’ll feel like a fun science experiment that gets them excited.
Bubble art
How about trying bubble art that you can display and enjoy even after playing? First, let’s make the tool.
Cut off the mouthpiece section of a plastic bottle, then cover the cut edge with a cloth.
Next, make the bubble solution.
Mix your favorite paint with water, laundry detergent, and glue.
Once you’re ready, dip the tool into the bubble solution in the color you like, and blow toward a sheet of paper.
Beautiful patterns should appear on the paper.
Adjust the colors and your blowing technique to create a lovely piece of art.
Soap bubbles made with pipe cleaners
Like a magic wand! Let’s make a cute item that makes blowing bubbles even more fun.
First, prepare a cookie cutter in your favorite shape.
Shape a chenille stem (pipe cleaner) along the cutter and twist to secure it.
Next, thread a few beads of your choice onto the lower part of the stem.
To prevent the beads from slipping off, twist the tip into a small loop—and you’re done! The steps are simple and exciting to do, so try making it with family or friends and use it for your bubble play.
Giant soap bubble
It’s an idea that everyone has probably admired at least once: giant soap bubbles.
First, prepare a large container and mix in water, cornstarch, and dish soap.
Once it’s ready, tie a string to a couple of sticks to make your bubble wand.
Then head to an open space and have fun.
If you move the wand while it’s coated with the bubble solution, you should be able to create a long, horizontal bubble.
It can be exciting to challenge yourselves to see how big a bubble you can make.
By the way, depending on how you move the wand, you can also make smaller bubbles.
In conclusion
We focused on introducing handmade water-play items that are easy to make using things you already have at home.
If making them is difficult for small children, having an adult assemble them and letting the child draw pictures or do the decorating will surely give them the satisfying feeling of “I made it myself!”