- Ralph Waldo Emerson
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| My Dad at the cabin blowing bubbles on a windy day. |
When I was a kid, the other kids in the neighborhood would often come to our door asking,
"Can your Dad come out to play?"
Everyone knew that the game was always more fun, more lively and more inclusive if my Dad was playing, too.
My Dad has that wonderful rare talent of making any hum-drum task a "competition," where the rewards seem to rise in merriment from "just winning" to being Champion of the Universe!
(How I loved that honor--whether it was how many weeds one could yank from the back yard or getting lucky enough to beat my Dad in Monopoly!)
Fortunately, my Dad spent his career as an elementary teacher and later as the principal of two elementary schools in addition to several administrative positions. His favorite time of any school day--RECESS!!!--where he got to play with the kids.
Last month on a weekend at the cabin (at about 9,000 feet elevation in the mountains on the Wyoming-Colorado border) Dad suggested we use all that Wyoming wind to create soap bubbles!
He keeps an assortment of bubble wands in the cabin (but, of course!) and proceeded to mix up a nice batch of soapy water. What we got was frustratingly close to GREAT bubbles. Our best efforts produced small flimsy bubble "starts" that never really launched. Maybe it was the higher elevation or the extreme wind, but we knew we could do better.
As we packed up to go down the mountain we vowed to do a little research and return next week, Labor Day Weekend, armed with BUBBLE POTENTIAL!!!
I, of course, Googled for best-ranked bubble recipes and went to www.Amazon.com for soap bubble wands and solutions! Carefully I read reviews and made my choices. Dad went to the Dollar Store and picked up an assortment of containers with different mixtures.
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| My Dad and Ken using the small vials to create smaller bubbles. |
BASIC SOAP BUBBLE RECIPES:
6 C. WATER (DISTILLED RECOMMENDED)
1 C. DAWN
1 T. GLYCERIN
--OR--
6 C. WATER
1/2 C. DAWN
1/2 C. CORN STARCH
1 T. BAKING POWDER
1 T. GLYCERIN
This is the champagne of bubble solutions! I was hesitant to purchase it because it's on the expensive side at $19.97 for a two-pack of bubble juice or for one bottle of bubble mix and two bubble-maker wands.
But, I figured it should definitely be part of our Bubble Test Project--and, I'm so glad it was!!!
This solution was incredible!!! Not only were we able to create GIANT bubbles with a variety of wands, but THEY HELD TOGETHER, LAUNCHED AND FLEW HIGH AND FAR!!! So far, in fact, that we entranced the two-year-old boy in the cabin next door to bring both his parents over so he could play with us!!!
As we created big GIANT bubbles he would laugh, clap his hands and run into the bubbles, often finding himself gleefully inside!! I don't know who was laughing harder, us, him or his greatly amused parents!
(Sorry I don't have pictures of this but since I'm a bubble-maker I couldn't actually be the photographer, too. Darn.)
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| Dad uses the Bubble Bonker Bubble Wands to begin a gigantic bubble! |
BUBBLE SOLUTIONS;
WORST -Homemade Recipes
Maybe it was the elevation or the hefty wind, but our homemade recipes were unsatisfactory--even when we tinkered with them by adding more soap or glycerin. They didn't have enough bubble wall strength to "launch," let alone fly.
OKAY - "Store Bought" Bubble Solutions
The various bottles of bubble mix my Dad bought at the Dollar Store worked just fine for little bubbles from the wands inside the containers. The bubbles often floated the highest and farthest because they were smaller.
VERY GOOD - The bubble solution from the Toysmith Big Bubble Wand Set (which I got from www.Amazon.com.)
This set includes a shallow pan, bubble solution and two wands--a star and a circle ($9.47). The solution produced excellent large bubbles or several smaller bubbles, if the wind was just right. They had enough strength to "launch" and fly! Sadly, there was just one small bottle included and it goes fast when making larger bubbles.
EXCELLENT - Bubble Bonker Bubble Juice Mix (www.Amazon.com or www.bubblebonkers.com)
Although pricey, this mix does make one gallon, which lasted through Labor Day Weekend. There was even a small amount left, which we saved for another day. This solution makes GIGANTIC bubbles that "launch," fly, morph into different shapes created by the wind and often separate into several smaller bubbles that fly high and last a fairly long time. They also have a beautiful iridescence making the bubbles look like floating rainbows!
BUBBLE WANDS:
WORST - The "star" shaped wand included in the Toysmith Big Bubble Wand Set. It produced no real bubbles of any kind. Rather, it wasted the solution as it dripped off the wand and created a lot of mess.
GOOD - The wands found inside the containers of soap bubbles from the Dollar Store. Depending on the shape and length of the wands a variety of bubbles could be formed just by dipping in the solution and holding out into the wind.
VERY GOOD - Bubble Bonker Bubble Wands. Although a simple construction of "straw-like" handles and thick yarn, the material held a lot of bubble solution and often created more than one giant bubble before needing to be dipped again. The wand in each hand enables one to literally "create" the bubbles and determine the size. Practice really did enable me to create some amazing bubbles. My only concern was that often the yarn-like material would twist and make it a smaller opening which produces smaller bubbles.
EXCELLENT - "Circle" wand in Toysmith Big Bubble Wand Set. Although constructed of plastic, the wand seemed flexible and strong enough to last for many bubble blowing sessions. The circle is about 7 inches across and big enough to create some terrific bubbles, depending on the bubble solution. It did GREAT with the solution that came in the set and MARVELOUS with the Bubble Bonker mix.
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| Dad and I blowing bubbles over Labor Day WeekendI |
I recently read in a 2015 review that adults who are playful--spontaneous, uninhibited, and fun-seeking"--are better at managing stress and tend to be more motivated.
(Oprah Magazine, September, 2017)
My closing wish to you:
PLAY!
