So for a while now I've been wanting to do this activity with my boys,
I've seen it on other sensory blog posts and on pinterest but they all had the type of beads
that should a little person put it in their mouths could be rather yucky and possibly poisonous.
I found these instead. These are edible.
In other countries they're called boba pearls but here in NZ they are tapioca balls,
the ones that can be used in making dessert.
You can get bigger ones most likely from asian food warehouse as they are used in bubble
tea but i just used supermarket small ones.
To Make:
1. I used the whole packet but you don't have to, they swell up so a whole packet is plenty.
I put the packet in a pot of boiling water and cooked them for about 15 minutes on low.
2. Keep stirring as they tend to stick to the bottom of the pot and then start to burn even on a
low heat
3. After about 15 mins you'll notice they star to look like the picture above.
That's when I tipped them in a strainer in the sink and ran cold water over them,
using my hand to swish them around a bit.
4. I used just 4 bowls and divided up the beads into them, I added some colour-
i used wilton food gel as that tends to work best with liquidy things and washes off better
than regular food colourng.
5. I added just a bit of water and colour and let them sit for about half an hour,
After that I then rinsed them bowl by bowl in the strainer just a bit to get any excess
colour off, by now the colour had well set in to the beads.
6. I tipped them into a water table with bit of water for the kids. Without any water the
beads are really really sticky.
The kids loved this activity and cleaning up was a breeze. They loved squishing the beads
in their hands and tipping them from container to container.
I might have even enjoyed playing with them its such a unique sensory activity!
Also super pretty in the sunlight!
