DIY Balloon Squishy Ball

I follow a great preschool blog called “Preschool Powol Packets” and this week Carla made Squishy Bouncy Balls.  I loved the sound of this craft so we decided to give it a try.

The materials were easy enough to find around the house,  flour, balloons and a funnel.  I also thought about filling a balloon with a small amount of water to use as a comparison.  A balloon filled with flour would feel quite different from one filled with a bit of water.  We never got around to giving it a try as the flour filled one was very captivating to my daycare group.

Attach the balloon to the bottom of the funnel and fill the balloon completely with flour.

I left a tiny bit of air inside the balloon and then tied the top closed

Grab a second balloon and snip a few little slits around the balloon.  We also cut the neck of the second balloon open a bit.

Put the first balloon (orange one filled with flour) into the second balloon (red one with tiny slits).  It was a bit difficult to get the orange balloon into the red one but cutting open the neck of the red balloon a bit helped make this process easier.

Once the flour filled balloon is inside the second balloon you will be able to see the slits you cut.

This is where the fun begins!  Squeeze, squish, pull, push and manipulate the balloon in your hands.  It feels GREAT!  Just like one of those stress reliever balls.  It was really enjoyable to play with the balloon and the children loved squishing it and making the tiny bit of air bulge out of the slits we had cut in the second balloon.  This provided endless fun and giggles.

This slit turned out to be  heart shaped when we squished the flour in the balloon.

As the children were playing with their balloons I realized this is a wonderful fine motor activity to strengthen young fingers for printing activities.  It is also a good tactile activity to give to a child who is feeling frustrated and restless.  Since this was our first time making these balls I have no idea how long they last or how much you need to stretch the inner balloon before they pop.  Therefore, we played with them outside.  They were all still intact at the end of the day.  🙂

What a great little do-it-yourself squishy tactile ball.  I should have made one for myself!