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Thursday, August 4, 2011

Bubble Boy



Today we made a walk in bubble.  This definitely takes two people to make.  All you need is plastic sheeting, duct tape, and a fan.  We sealed the sides with the duct tape, left a hole for the fan and a hole to crawl in and out.  We played in this for so long that by the time we got out it was 6:00 and I had not cooked any dinner - oops - PIZZA NIGHT!  LOL   



This is what I used (Home Depot)
I used one sheet

 My son and I in the bubble.


Hole for the fan, hole to crawl in

 He was naked, so I had to blur out all of the nakedness.  This is inside the bubble.



 So cool!!


 Loving it.  He kept saying "wow, Mommy, its the biggest bubble ever".  :)


Tomorrow, we are planning to paint inside the bubble!!  





 "Hi Mommy"



 We brought in some balls (per request).



 Throwing balls in the bubble - he loved how they slid down the side "like a track".







Throwing ball into the corner.

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE OTHER FUN IDEAS I CREATED WITH PLASTIC TARP
HERE & HERE 

****PLEASE NOTE:  As with all of our activities, this was SUPERVISED.  At no time was any child at risk in any way.  We only encourage parents/caregivers to do what they are comfortable with.****


Tape length-wise for a bubble tunnel


- AK (MESE, MECD)



:)

54 comments:

  1. That is awesomely cool. I have to make this happen for my kids. They will have so much fun!

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  2. Neat idea, I love the pics. Your blurs kind of look like underwear even :p

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  3. Well, Mom. If you're going to be in a giant bubble, you really do have to be nude. It's the only way. LOL!

    Love this, will obviously be trying it at my house now.

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  4. I'm in love! I want to play with him.

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  5. @Senorita - or inside, or eating dinner, or mowing the grass in the back yard, or swinging in the garage......LOL LOL

    There has been NOTHING "terrible" about age 2, but it sure has been naked! LOL LOL

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  6. This is so magical and inspired! I can wait to do it with my son! Thank you so much for sharing!!!

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  7. What an INSANELY cool idea!!!! What fun you must have had!

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  8. @PAHM, I have found the 2s to be very naked as well! I have to do a lot of convincing to ensure clothes stay on in the grocery store!

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  9. CHLOE - LOL!! I dont have any issues in public. LOL He is pretty good about understanding that "clothes stay on in public". LOL

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  10. That's funny, the naked 2's. My oldest NEVER wanted to be naked. The first time I put her in a dress without leggings, she looked at me in horror and said, "Pants!"

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  11. Why does this remind me of ET?? lol ;)

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  12. This is the cooooolest thing I have EVER seen! Getting supplies today for it an will be having a blast too! Thanks so much for sharing! Reminds me of ET also! Lol

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  13. Does it matter where the hole to crawl in and out of is compared to where the fan is? This would be awesome to set up one day!!

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  14. Ooh how cool is that?!?! So have to try this!

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  15. I L.O.V.E. this and it brings back happy memories. Believe it or not when I was in grade school one of the teachers put it up in a classroom. We all got to take turns reading in it. I looked forward to it for weeks as they prepared it and still remember it now. Awesome!!

    Kristen @ http://busykidshappymom.blogspot.com

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  16. The first time I read through, I missed the part where you explained that he was naked and I was wondering, 'What is he wearing?! A loincloth?!' :)
    Anyway, FUN idea. I guess the fan might keep it cool enough that I could do it her in the south where it's 100 degrees?

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  17. @BETH - I think the web site I got the idea from has the hole to crawl in on the opposite end (kind of on the side) of the bubble than the fan. Im not sure if it makes a difference.

    @MIKE AND WENDY - LOL! It was 101 outside when we did this.(we were in a shaded area, though)

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  18. Wow!!! http://bellesbazaar-heather.blogspot.com

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  19. We did this when I was in junior high. We covered the plastic with waterlife, fish and plants and other bubbles. When it was blown up, we were walking into a water wonderland. I forgot about this. Thank you for sharing it!

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  20. Thats so cool! And no better way to be in a bubble than in the buff

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  21. My brother just suggested setting a sprinkler so it runs over the top of the bubble.

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  22. oh my gods.. I am such a nervous mother.. I was totally worrying about it collapsing and suffocating the kids.. I would never be able to do it.. good on you guys for trying new things..

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  23. That is so cool!!! and I love the sprinkler idea!

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  24. I love this!!
    I am SO GLAD that I am not the only one who allows my younger children to run around without clothes on!!
    Tiffany

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  25. Made this today. the boy loved it. Should have gotten a thicker plastic, but I'll do that next time when we need new plastic.

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  26. I can see this ending tragically... that is super dangerous. Major suffocation hazard!

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  27. Some folks have trouble reading and somehow it is the same who never hesitate to butt in with ignorant comments. Mom is INSIDE the "bubble" WITH HER CHILD. This is no more dangerous than teaching your child to swim! And looks like such fun. Kudos, busy mama! I dont know how you do it all...

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    1. I do not feel their comments are ignorant. We teach our kids to not play with plastic bags and then we do fun things like this that seem to contradict. As cool as it looks, I am not sure I would do it with my kids - whether i was inside or not. It is mine, and others, perogative to have a different view of this activity.

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    2. I totally agree. Those are not ignorant comments. I'm all for fun but also don't believe I could do this activity with my kids because of the hazardous potential of it. What if the power went out and the whole thing collapsed on them? Looks like fun but knowing me I just couldnt do it.

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    3. Is there not hazardous potential in 75% of what children do? Climbing trees? Branches snap all the time. Swinging on swing sets? Number one way kids knock their teeth out. Putting your kid on a school bus with a stranger driving and no seatbelts has far more hazardous potential than the bubble Idea.
      The same way it takes a minute or so to inflate it takes time to deflate meaning you'd have time to get yourself and your kids out. It's plastic, not a death trap.

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    4. the picture, as well as the description, clearly indicates that there are holes to climb in an out of. You are not "sealing" the child in this. If your first reaction was "DANGER"....I say try it! Your kids will love it. If you are nervous...follow the directions and be right there with them...you will soon see that this activity is COMPLETELY safe for children.

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  28. Oh, this is an absolutely fantastic idea! I will love doing this come summer! You are awesome.

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  29. It would be really fun also to blow up a bunch of balloons and put in there... that way the fan would blow them all around... I think i might do this for my childrens bday party this year! So fun

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    1. I tried the balloon idea and it didn't work too well. My fan at least wasn't strong enough to keep them circulating. I did let the kids paint inside of it and that was a lot of fun for them.

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  30. Hi, I'm from South Africa and when i asked for plastic sheeting at the hardware shop all I got was blank stares. They have spot sheets for painters but not clear plastic like yours. So what is the general use for plastic sheeting? besides giant bubbles of course.. I'm on the hunt, I'll try some other kinds of shops.. any ideas?

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    1. they are generally used to cover floors or furniture while painting, try near your paint supplies.

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    2. the clear sheeting I found was a vapor barrier used when building houses to cover the exterior insulation before putting the siding on. Often you see it with a logo on it, but there is a clear plastic version also.

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  31. About how much did the plastic cost? How much do you need? Thanks!! = )

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  32. This gives me such nostalgia. When my son was a toddler, he broke his femur and ended up in a body cast for the summer. We rigged something similar with plastic, a fan and clothespins. (And constant supervision, of course!) Not much a child can do in a body cast, so it was great for him to have something fun to do even though he couldn't move much. Thanks for the memories!
    Kim Norman

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  33. Can you send a link with this product at home depot? It is impossible to find and I love the idea. thanks!

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    1. Its this (but not specifically these dimensions)....found near painting drop cloths.

      http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100651792/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=plastic+tarp&storeId=10051

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  34. Those ideas are amazing. Our company, HofK Exhibits, fabricates themed sensory rooms and your ideas are great! If anyone wants ideas or wants to locate sensory products we would be more than happy to help. Love it!

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  35. I made this last night for my friends kids. It was July 4th so we needed something to keep them busy till fireworks time. I live in Ga where it's very hot & the fan kept the "balloon" very cool. The kids played in there for like 3 hours. I blew up some balloons for them to play with inside. The best part was when my friends little girl came up to me ask asked when we were going to go up like the movie. I almost died it was so cute! What a wonderful idea thanks for sharing & making me the coolest Ms. Stacy ever!

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  36. this looks like fun, just not getting why he wasn't wearing clothes?

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  37. @Jaydensmama, he's a toddler and toddlers LOVE to be naked! No other explanation needed :)

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  38. I did something like this when I was teaching high school biology. We were doing our cell unit, so I made a big "cell" and they made proportionally appropriate organelles as a project. My high school juniors? LOVED IT. From the moment they walked into my classroom they could not WAIT for the bell to ring so they could step inside with their organelles.

    And now my boys love it!

    Walk in bubbles are fun for all ages!!

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  39. This was so much fun and a cheap idea. We made an extra large one using 2 sheets of plastic (to fit myself and two kids) and it lasted for days. We let it deflate, brought it into the garage at night and it was back out again the next day for more play.

    I love your ideas, theyre so much fun and these are the things kids will always remember doing. Thanks for this post. :)

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  40. We did this today with our neighbors. There were a lot of little kids that had a blast because of your idea. :)

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  41. For the mothers having a hard time with the idea of putting your child inside the "bubble", maybe a good alternative would be to fill the "bubble" with water instead of with air from a fan? Then seal it up and let your child play on the "water bed"... A friend of mine made a water bed with these same materials and colored the water, from the pictures, it looks like her children had a BLAST. :)

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    1. Yes, that idea originated from us....

      http://playathomemom3.blogspot.com/2012/02/redneck-waterbed.html

      http://playathomemom3.blogspot.com/2012/04/i-spy-redneck-waterbed.html

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  42. Originated here at PAHM

    http://playathomemom3.blogspot.com/2012/04/i-spy-redneck-waterbed.html

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