Kids love sensory play, and it’s a great way to help them learn. My kids enjoy exploring textures, sounds, and colors. One of their favorite sensory activities is playing with water beads! Water beads are an easy and fun way for kids to create their own liquid potions or design new colors with those beads! They can be used in a sensory bin, or as decorations at a party for guests of all ages. The possibilities are endless so let your imagination run wild!

Water beads are a great sensory experience for kids, both in and out of the home. They can be an excellent way to help calm and soothe a child with sensory processing disorders or autism as well as any other kids who has some energy. Like I said, the possibilities for water bead play are endless! Keep reading for a list of all the ways you can use these fun tiny beads.

What exactly is a water bead?

A water bead is a tiny filled plastic ball about 1/4″ in diameter. They’re usually sold in big bags or containers (typically with other small toys, near crafts) at most any store like Target or at a major discount retailer store such as Walmart and of course my favorite online store (my kids as well LOL), Amazon.

Water beads are non toxic, odorless polymer beads that come small and hard in packaging. They are not edible so if you have a child that still puts things in their mouth watch closely or wait till they are older. Place beads in water for at least 3 hours and watch the magic happen!

These water-absorbing beads will expand to 1000x their original size! Water beads are simple and easy sensory play. When you look at them you don’t possibly think they will grow to be the size of a marble, but they will! I ordered mine off Amazon and they were super cheap for a pack of 20,000. Yes, 20,000 water beads are $7.95 and offer prime 2-day shipping if you’re into that sorta thing! You can even get more beads! They have packs with up to 80,000 water beads! You could fill a whole toddler pool with them outside and let them have at it for hours! 

How they work

The idea behind these little spheres is to soak them overnight and let kids play with them outdoors once they’ve absorbed enough water; the beads can be squeezed together between fingers or thrown into the air to splash onto unsuspecting friends! They are also a sensory experience toy that helps children relax and have so much fun. They also soothe stressed and anxious children because of the weight of the water beads.

Water beads with autism and SPD:  Children who have sensory processing disorder can benefit from water beads because the pressure from squeezing them releases endorphins in the brain, giving them their own calming sensory experience! These children can also use their own water beads as a tool to help them with sensory issues. For example, they could carry the bag of beads around in their backpacks and squeeze them whenever they need to relax or relieve stress! It’s a great alternative to chewing on your shirt sleeve or pencil erasers and less messy!

Limitless Uses

Water beads are great for play indoors on a rainy day or outside in the sun! These water beads do not leave a sticky or slimy residue behind so clean-up is a breeze. Some ideas for fun indoor play would be to put them in a larger tub or basket at the table and let your child squish around! It’s amazing how soothing this is for kids, especially for one that may have some developmental disability, on the autism spectrum, or just has a lot of energy! Another idea would be to put out some cups so your child can sort the different colors of water beads, you can work on colors, patterning, counting, you name it! The ideas are endless. 

Outdoor play can get a little crazier because we are outside and clean up is much easier! One idea that pops into mind is filling a toddler pool with these beads and let your kids squish and squeeze around in the toddler pool. Scooping and dumping into sand toys and just exploring their senses! Sounds so fun I want to join in! haha.

You can always bring tubs or buckets outside and let your kids explore them however they choose. Sorting and counting just like inside. Add water balloons or water balloon babies if you dry a face on them and add an element of pretend play. You can add some shaving cream for another element of fun! You could do this inside or outside but outside allows for easier clean-up (wash down with the hose haha). 

Lots of fun ideas for inside or outside and there are even more great ideas from the artful parent if you are feeling excited and want to soak up as much water bead knowledge as you can!