water beads

Milo played with water beads for the first time last week. I had never used water beads before and did not know what to expect. So let me fill you in. This is what you will be looking at after you give small, slippery balls to a toddler:

And did I mention that they bounce? Yeah. I will probably find dried up water beads in every corner of the kitchen for another month.

The giant mess aside, Milo had a lot of fun. He transferred them between different containers using a small scoop, a large spoon, and a cup. Next time we play I will introduce more colors and let him try color sorting. 

One very important thing to realize is that these are the perfect way to choke a small child. So if your child is still in the "everything goes into the mouth" stage, DO NOT try this activity. Also, please do not try this with your older child if you have a mobile infant crawling around. I was not joking about these things going everywhere.