Explore the many ways of making a bubble wand with pre-K students. Provide different materials for the children to experiment with. Wands can be fashioned from rubber bands, pipe cleaners, plastic drinking straws and plastic ring six-pack soda holders. Instruct the children to create their own wands and test them together with bubble solution outside. Test which wands create the largest and the strongest bubbles.
Take different ingredients outside for experiments with making bubble solution. The pre-kindergartners should be divided into groups to figure out which ingredients make the best bubble solution. Provide liquid soap, glycerin, sugar and water to each group. Children will use measuring cups and spoons to create their own bubble solution. Then each group's solution will be tested and judged on how strong and big the bubbles made from the solution are.
Use bubbles to create artwork with pre-kindergartners. Mix together 1 to 2 tablespoons of tempera paint with 1 tablespoon of dish-washing liquid and 1/2 cup of water in a shallow pan. Instruct the children to dip drinking straws into the colored bubble mixture. Blow bubbles into the mixture for a few seconds or until the bubbles nearly reach the edges of the pan. Place a piece of drawing paper over the bubbles for few seconds. Once the bubbles pop, they leave painted marks on the paper. Experiment with different methods of popping paint bubbles on the paper.
Give your students a science lesson using bubbles by creating a rainbow. Place a plastic lid from a small container on top of a flashlight. Add 1 teaspoon of bubble solution on top of the lid. Blow bubbles into the solution with a straw. Turn down the lights and turn on the flashlight to see the rainbow. Ask the children why they see the rainbow and what is similar to the bubble rainbow and a rainbow seen after it rains.