Stress balls are small squishy balls that fit nicely in your hand, used for school-aged children. They can be squeezed, tightly squeezed, fiercely squeezed, and then squeezed some more! You can give them angry squeezes, frustrated squeezes, nervous squeezes, and more! These little balls are indeed a simple and harmless way to have an outlet for stressful emotions rather than letting them build up inside of us.
Not only does this activity reduce stress and fear in children, but it helps build their fine motor skills, and encourages exercises.
Supplies:
-1 Balloon
-1 Empty Water Bottle (or a bottle with a small neck opening)
-¾ cup of Flour
-Sharpie Marker
-A funnel (preferred to make it easier!)
Feel free to add any other materials to dress up your balloon! Such as yarn for hair, pipe cleaners, ect.
Activity Steps:
Step 1: First, gather all of your materials for the activity. Be sure to set up in a space that safe to work in as it may get dirty.
Step 2: Second, pour 3/4 cup of flour into your bottle. If you have a funnel, it can make the job go easier! If you do not, use a smaller spoon to scoop the flour into the bottle, but do this over the sink or a trash can, this way you aren’t spilling over the table.
Step 3: Next, blow up the balloon a little bit, and put it over the neck of the bottle. Make sure some air stays in the balloon. This is a perfect time to learn how to blow up a balloon! First, loosen the balloon by stretching and pulling it. Then, place your index finger and thumb by the neck of the balloon where the opening is. Place your mouth around the opening, take a deep breath, and blow or kiss into the balloon!
Step 4: Then, move the flour from the bottle into the balloon. With another person’s help, stretch the opening of the balloon and place it over the top of the opening of the bottle. Once the balloon is secured, you can start to tilt the bottle to move the flour in the balloon. This will take some tipping back and forth, some tapping of the bottle, shaking, and a wee bit of patience. Ask for parental help to avoid spilling!
Step 5: Once almost all the flour is in the balloon, remove the balloon from the bottle and slowly let the remaining air out of the balloon. Tie a knot on the balloon. A little bit of flour might come poofing out when you do this, which is okay. This is a perfect opportunity to learn how to tie a knot!
Step 6: Once a knot is tied, draw a face using sharpie markers. This is your opportunity to be creative! You can also add some yarn hair or pipe cleaners to add hair, or any other materials you think would work!
Final Step: Finally, your stress ball is finished and squeeze away!