simple.green.organic.happy.

Green living, playful parenting and the pursuit of happiness

No-Fail Outdoor Fun: Homemade Bubble Recipe

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thatsa big bubble

There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child.

There are seven million.

-Walt Streightiff

 

It’s 4th of July weekend, and perhaps it’s because I grew up near Philadelphia and Hagley that I associate that holiday with the simple pleasures of old-time child’s play (think colonial: the Betsy Ross House, hoops and sticks, and those bicycles with the big front wheel).

Bubbles are the physical manifestation of childhood joy: simple, universally delightful, light and sparkling, effervescent, and fleeting.

lotsa bubbles

As you fire up the grill the weekend, take a second to whip up this easy homemade bubble recipe with easy-to-find, probably-in-your-kitchen-already ingredients—no glycerin in this baby!

Pour it into a big Rubbermaid tub lid or kiddie pool, and use wire hangers (bent into circles) or hula hoops for REALLY BIG BUBBLES (the photos here used a specific toy, the Bubble Thing).

hug the bubble

Homemade Bubbles

6 cups (or parts) water
2 cups (or parts) Dawn or other dishwashing detergent
3/4 cup Karo light corn syrup
(Surprise! Corn syrup is good for something! And yes, I’m assuming that you have a bottle of this stuff languishing in the back of your pantry. I do.)

Have fun!

** Thanks to Suz Lipman at Slow Family Online for the glycerin-free bubble recipe. Along with the good folks at Ka-BOOM!, she recently co-hosted a webinar, Slow Down for Summer, with two tons of ideas for savoring childhood and “trading frenzy for fun.” Check it out! **

really big bubbles

Of Miracles… and Giant Bubbles

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giant bubble

There are only two ways to live your life.
One is as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is as though everything is a miracle.

— Albert Einstein

huge bubble wraps around Cass

Miracles happen everyday,
change your perception of what a miracle is
and you’ll see them all around you.

-Jon Bon Jovi

There is nothing quite like the joy of a child looking at a giant, life-sized bubble. Cass had no idea whether she wanted to pop it, hug it, or protect it.

There is also nothing quite like the joy of a mother watching her husband create giant bubbles for his daughter to enjoy.

giant bubbles

It was a messy, sticky labor of love, inducing many giggles, shrieks, and dramatic sliding on slippery grass. (It was great, the kids’ feet would just fly out from under them, the most ridiculous slapstick falling on bums that you can imagine. For an afternoon, it appeared that I had given birth to the Three Stooges.)

To kids, bubbles are miracles. You can explain how they work from morning to night; just because you can explain it doesn’t make it any less magical, miraculous. Fleeting.

The same goes for clouds, rainbows, airplanes and babies.

When you become a parent, you have to learn to let go of the explanations and embrace the miracles.

Life is so much better that way, anyway.

giant bubble

Miracles, in the sense of phenomena we cannot explain,
surround us on every hand:

life itself is the miracle of miracles.

George Bernard Shaw

giant bubble

Let me know what miracles you find today.

**Side note: Cass’s uncle bought her this “Bubble Thing” for her birthday. She couldn’t quite manipulate it- part of the problem is she isn’t tall enough- but the boys got the hang of it easily enough. It comes with some bubble solution that you mix with dish soap and water; Jeff insisted that our Sun & Earth soap detracted from the massiveness/longevity of the bubbles, which may be a valid point. This bubble mixture is going to drip EVERYWHERE when you’re playing so be prepared! It’s crazy slippery. Get the kids to wear grippy shoes or have your FlipCam ready.**