We can give kids the most costly toys for presents, and they still end up playing with the box and wrapping. Here’s a new dance—the bubble wrap stomp. A parcel came to our house with bubble wrap. And what’s the most fun? Popping all those bubbles of course. Little Sister spend a good chunk of the afternoon popping them in a variety of ways.
The most obvious way to pop these plastic bubbles would seem to be to poke them like soap bubbles. This didn’t make the loud pop. Balloons make a really big pop when poked with a toothpick, so she asked for one. The bubbles sort of squished, but didn’t pop. Next, she tried pushing really hard with her arm and fist. That was much better. Several of them popped.
One piece of bubble wrap slipped to the floor so Little Sister slid off her chair and bent to pick it up. That was all the invitation her foot needed, or maybe that was the reason why the bubble wrap ended up there. In any case, a few good stomps gave a satisfactory result.
I took advantage of here play to ask the question, “Will any bubbles pop if you wiggle instead of stomp?” She tried some back and forth wiggles but they only bunched up the bubble wrap. On her own, she decided to try jumping. That was the best. Lots and lots of bubbles popped.
This kind of play is physical and sensory. Big muscles got exercise jumping and stomping. Poking with fingers and a toothpick used small muscles. Motor control of both muscle groups is developing at this age.
Children’s play can be more complex than we first see. Besides the movement activities, thinking ones are included too. This is certainly cause and effect play. What actions would pop the bubbles? Little Sister had to think of different options, explore them, and compare the results. She discovered jumping was most effective to get lots of pops.
Do you have any at your house for your child to play the bubble wrap stomp?