How to Make A Squeeze Ball for Kids
Preschoolers can poke, roll, shape, and squeeze this homemade squeeze ball for kids. It’s great for building hand strength and calming fidgety kids.
Squeeze balls, also known as stress balls and fidget balls, are a great tool for helping kids build hand strength. They’re also great for kids who fidget, kids who need to move to concentrate, and kids who are easily distracted.
With just a few household supplies and this simple step-by-step tutorial, you and your kids can whip up a few squeeze balls in no time!
How to Make a Squeeze Ball
Before we talk about how to make a squeeze ball, let’s talk about why you might want to. Fidgety kids can be difficult to teach. They’re distracting and often times distracted. Giving them something tactile to manipulate while you teach can help them refocus and stay focused.
Children with poor fine motor skills may benefit from a fidget ball, as well. Squeezing and stretching a fidget ball can help them build hand and finger strength. This, in turn, can help with handwriting. It’s a win-win!
Anxious and nervous children can also benefit from a stress/fidget ball. For months, while dealing with our journey to a diagnosis for my daughter, she carried putty in her purse and backpack. She had it near her almost all the time. When she started feeling anxious, she’d pull it out and begin squeezing and stretching the putty. This gave her something tactile to focus on as she worked on managing her anxiety and stress levels.
What You Will Need:
• empty water bottle
• decorative balloons
• funnel
• flour
Directions
Put a clean, dry funnel into a clean, dry water bottle. If there is moisture in either, the flour will stick to it.
Pour a half-cup of flour through the funnel into the water bottle.
Stretch a balloon around the opening of the water bottle. Be gentle so you don’t rip the neck of the balloon.
With the balloon still attached, turn your water bottle upside down. Gently squeeze the flour into the balloon. Make sure to use some pressure because the air helps the balloon open up so the all of the flour will go in.
Once you’ve got all the flour in the balloon, pinch the balloon and release it from the bottle. Again, take care not to tear the neck of the balloon.
The balloon should have a snug fit to the flour inside it. Gently squeeze the balloon to make sure there isn’t any extra air the balloon. Don’t squeeze too hard or all of the flour will “poof” out. But, you want all the air out so the balloon won’t pop.
Tie the balloon and wipe away any excess flour on the outside.
Now, you’re all ready to squeeze away your fidgets and build hand strength while doing it!
What other tips and tools do you like for fidgety or anxious children?
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Tara is the brains behind Homeschool Preschool, where her journey from preschool and public school teacher to homeschooling mom of three fuels her passion for early childhood education. With a blend of expertise and firsthand experience, Tara’s writings offer practical tips and engaging resources to support families in creating meaningful learning adventures at home.