Jelly Volcano Balloons

This activity was serious fun, both girls got really involved - and sticky :-D It was a great sensory play experience; there was the feel of the jelly, the fun of watching it 'explode' as well as the taste and smell.

WE USED:

* balloons (washed in warm soapy water and rinsed)
* jelly (2 packs)
* fridge
* scissors
* large container
* kitchen utensils for play

First we washed our balloons thoroughly, rinsing them well.

Then Bubble and I made some jelly using two packs of crystals and only adding a small amount of hot water to dissolve (about a cup). It was very thick and syrupy which is what we needed.

I filled each of our balloons with some of the concentrated jelly solution using a funnel, then filled them the rest of the way with water from the kitchen tap (cover the tap with the top of the balloon like you would fill a water bomb). The balloons were then tied off and left in the fridge for a day to set.
I had no idea if I'd added enough or too much water to make them set, but figured they'd be fun to play with whether the jelly was firm or watery!

Today we took our jelly balloons outside along with some scissors and things from the kitchen.

When the tops of the balloons were cut off they literally exploded jelly out the top - Bubble was very excited and thought they were volcanos :-)
All the balloons were different consistencies which was even more fun - the watery ones exploded the best when cut and the firmer ones were lots of fun to squeeze.

Bubble enjoyed cutting the balloons herself.

Once all of the balloons were 'erupted' we played with the jelly doing pretend cooking, whisking, filling and pouring and of course tasting :-D

Using ladels to fill cups.

Squeak was fascinated and inspected the jelly very closely for a long time. She ran her fingers back and forth and kept holding handfuls up to the light.

There was lots of squishing.

And plenty of eating too :-)