Monday, July 27, 2015

Life-Saving Bubbles {Part 2}

Fresh off our bubble disappointment, I was on a mission.  I was going to find a great bubble recipe that would allow my boys to make giant bubbles.


Title pic with bubbles

One suggestion from many was to replace the dish soap I'd been using with blue Dawn, the liquid soap often recommended for its magic.  I'm not sure what's in there, but it's saved my day before, so I was willing to give it a try.

I also found an intriguing recipe that called for cornstarch and baking powder that seemed fun to try.

In a giant bubble
Then, just for good measure, I picked the brain of our daycare's STEM teacher.  Every summer she does a giant bubble day with the kids....I'm talking putting kids inside the bubble giant!  I knew she must have a great recipe, and I hoped she'd be willing to share her secret!

And then it rained.....and rained.....and rained.  It's been one rainy summer here in Northeast Ohio, so our project had to be put on the back burner for a while.

Finally, we had a sunny Sunday afternoon, so I got the ingredients together for our two experiments and headed outside.  The boys were excited to help measure and stir!

Glycerin - Take Two

We started with our recipe from the first go-round but replaced the dish soap we'd used with blue Dawn.  Knowing I couldn't guarantee the results, we started with a quarter sized recipe again. This batch was definitely pretty to look at in the pan, but would they work?

 No one wanted to wait all night to test them out (who knew if we'd get another dry day!) so we started playing with them immediately.  (We'd also been tipped off by our "favorite science girl" - AKA Ms. Mandy the STEM teacher, that letting them rest doesn't really do anything for them.)

One possible bubble recipe

It was a moderate success.  Using bubble wands that had come with bubbles we'd purchased, both boys were able to easily form plenty of  regular-sized bubbles
boy popping bubble with arm

toddler mixing bubble ingredients

When we tried our giant bubble makers, though, it was more hit and miss.  We were able to actually form a couple this time, but they popped immediately.


Dad attempting to make a giant bubble

Still, we decided this was a great recipe to keep on hand for regular bubble blowing, so we made another half-sized batch to keep on hand.

Cornstarch and Baking Powder

Still hoping to find a GIANT success, we tried the other recipe I'd come across.  I was pretty skeptical, but had the ingredients on hand, so I figured we'd never know if we didn't try.  

Third version of a bubble recipe


Same deal as the prior batches, we made a small test batch first.




Bubble ingredients



This recipe didn't work well for us at all.  It was difficult to mix gently and yet forcefully enough to dissolve all of the cornstarch and baking powder.  Once we got it all mixed up, it didn't do much for us.  (Disclaimer:We didn't allow this one to sit based on the looming grey clouds and advice from our STEM guru.) Blowing regular bubbles was hit and miss, and it wouldn't even stick to the giant bubble maker. 

We ditched this recipe pretty quickly.  And then, it started to rain....AGAIN.  We packed our supplies up for the day and headed in.  I had one more suggestion up my sleeve from Ms. Mandy who did generously share her secret.  It sounded strange to me though, so I'd held off on getting the secret ingredient.  On the way back into the house, I decided that, strange as it sounded, we'd have to give it a shot.  

So far, the corn syrup recipe we'd previously tested has been our favorite, but check back soon to see what Ms. Mandy suggesti and how it worked for us!


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26 comments:

  1. What great bubble recipes! Thanks for testing them all and sharing. Bubbles are so much fun and I always had a bottle with me when I was a kid.

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    1. Bubbles are great! I have one more resource to test out - hopefully we'll bet some enormous ones! Thanks for stopping by!

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  2. Sounds like fun and an intro to science projects taking place at you home. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Science that's fun is the way to go in my book! We didn't dwell too much on the science with my little ones this time around - but I'm sure we'll refer to this experiment in the future! Thanks for stopping by.

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  3. Thanks for linking up with us on our Hip Homeschool Hop! We love to try out fun ideas and experiments at our house too! Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't, but it's fun to try. :)

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    1. I hadn't thought of it that way - but perhaps that's the biggest lesson here.....sometimes things don't happen the way we want or expect, and it's OK! Thanks for stopping by.

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  4. I like how you tried out a few recipes and tested them, great idea! Sometimes things are harder than they seem online. Thank you for linking up at the #ThoughfulSpotBlogHop this week! :)

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    1. Things never seem to work in my house the way the internet says they should - I'm on a mission to find a great recipe now! I have one more great resource to test out - I'm hoping it works as well as I've heard it does! Thanks for stopping by.

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  5. I think we need to go down the homemade route as Yoshi's second bubble machine has broken now. Thanks for the recipe! Great to see you back at #fbfriday too! Thanks Catie

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    1. Making your own makes your supply much closer to endless :) Thanks for stopping by. Have a great week!

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  6. Thanks for sharing this great idea. I am going to have to try this with my sons for a science experiment during this homeschool year. Thank for sharing with #SocialButterflySunday this week. Hope to see you link up again this Sunday :)

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    1. It's lots of fun. My guys are a bit small to focus too heavily on the science just yet, but there's lots of science going on! Let me know if your experiments explain why things happened this way. Thanks for stopping by!

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  7. My son loves bubbles; we have wands and hoops and swords and all sorts! We have never tried for giant bubbles - I think he'd go in to joy overload, lol! Thanks for sharing your trials with the bubbles with us at Merry Monday!

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    1. I remember making HUGE bubbles as a youngster, but I just can't seem to get them to work now. It's quite fun when it works! Thanks for stopping by.

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  8. What great fun. We have never made giant bubbles but I think we really need to try!

    Thanks for linking up with Small Steps Amazing Achievements :0)
    x

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    1. It's a lot of fun! I remember getting HUGE bubbles when I was young, but I can't seem to get something just right. Even the regular bubbles were lots of fun to mix, measure, and play with, though. Thanks for stopping by!

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  9. Oh I'm really interested to hear about this special recipe. How do so many people do it so well and make it look easy?!! We'd love to try and make giant bubbles! Good luck and Thanks for linking up with #featurefridays

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    1. It does always look super easy! I'm still a bit nervous to order the secret ingredient, as it seems way silly and out there! We'll have plenty of other adventures in the meantime, though, so please stop back. Thanks for visiting!

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  10. Thank you for your reviews of these recipes! We go through so many bubbles. I really need to start making my own!

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    1. It's really easy, and for regular bubbles, we got pretty good results. I'm still on the quest to find the perfect recipe for GIANT bubbles though! Thanks for stopping by!

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  11. It's so hard to find that magical recipe. We tried a couple new bubble recipes this summer. I had planned to try giant bubbles, but have not had a chance to try out recipes yet.

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    1. If you find one let me know - I'm still a bit skeptical and shy to try what was recommended as a magic ingredient....There's still fun in the process though! Thanks for stopping by.

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  12. It's so hard to find that magical recipe. We tried a couple new bubble recipes this summer. I had planned to try giant bubbles, but have not had a chance to try out recipes yet.

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    1. I was referred to one more recipe, but I'm a bit skeptical about the magic ingredient, so I haven't tried it just yet. I might make it one last hurrah before cold weather sets in - check back soon to see how it goes! Thanks for stopping by!

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  13. This looks fun! My son loves bubbles, but I haven't tried making any before. Thanks for sharing the recipes and what did and didn't work.

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    1. Bubbles are like magic....for older kids making bubbles can be a good science lesson too. Thanks for stopping by!

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