How did I not know about Water Beads?!!

I've been hearing about these in some amazing sensory plays that we just had to try it!

Water Beads come in a really small packet in tiny bead form.

You put the tiny beads in water for 4-6 hours and they grow into larger clear pearls, like marbles. They are used to decorate vases or candle holders.

We stuck all our tiny beads in a big bin of water, the colours definitely leaked right away changing the water colour.

We kept checking on them, seeing them grow a little more each time.

They had crinkles in them, almost unfolding out into a ball, as they retain water.

The next morning, our bin was full of round Water Beads!

They feel slimey, slippery, squishy, and so smooth! The colours of these beads bled into the water, so we drained the water all out of the bucket, leaving just the beads.

It is such a fun slippery feeling to put your hands through a big bin of Water Beads!

I added some scoops and containers for pouring and filling fun.

Our beads were almost fragile, they would burst, pop, break apart easily. So as we played in it, there were gel pieces that clung to our hands.

And the bin ended up looking like this, balls with broken pieces. Also, they were very tempting to squish and pop, so besides the ones that broke on their own, we also couldn't resist to squishing a few of those soft gel-y balls! :) But the main idea of a sensory bin is the sensory experience and that means always messy fun, nothing ever stays pretty during sensory play!