Water Beads for Kids

Curious what to do with water beads for kids? Here are 20 creative activities.

Water beads for kids make great sensory play activities for ages 4+.

They are slimy, squishy, and invite all sorts of play both indoors and out. We use water beads year-round and love all of these invitations to play.

Here’s what we will learn in this post

How to grow water beads
What can you do with water beads
How long water beads last

Ready? Let’s get our water beads ready to play on with your kids at home.

RELATED: We love simple activities for kids at home, and this is a fun idealist.

What are water beads?

Water beads are non-toxic round balls made out of sodium polyacrylate. When water beads are in the water, they expand in size. They are also biodegradable.

Water beads are intended for ages 4 years+. If you are looking for sensory play for toddlers, start with this step-by-step guide on introducing sensory bins.

They are not edible and should not go in the mouth.

With proper supervision, water beads make an exciting sensory exploration for play!

RELATED: Want more water activities? I have an entire list of water games here!

How to Grow Water Beads

There are a few steps to growing your water beads.

Purchase your water beads online or in the floral department of a craft store.
Put about 1-2 tablespoons of water beads in a large container.
Add about 1-2 cups of water into the bin. You want just enough to cover the bottom of the sensory bin.
Allow 6-8 hours for the water beads to absorb the water in the bin. This time will allow the water beads to grow in size.

Once the water beads reach full size, there are so many ways to play!

Step 1

Orders water beads online or purchase at a local craft store. We find it easiest to order directly online.

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We use this brand of water beads linked here.

Step 2

Add about 1-2 tablespoons of water beads into the large under the bed storage bin. We use this bin for our sensory explorations!

You can also use a smaller storage bin to “grow” the water beads and then transfer them to the larger bin once your children are ready to play.

Step 3

Wait 6-8 hours, and watch your water beads grow!

Watching the water beads is great fun, and we like to keep ours at eye level to watch the progress. You will notice the initial expansion happens pretty quickly.

If you feel your child will grow impatient with the wait, prepare the water beads together before bedtime and wake up to a fun surprise!

Water beads can be used for:

Floating candles or tea lights
Floral arrangements
Sensory play
Science experiments
Stress balls

And guess what? Water beads can be used again!

After playing with the water beads, place them on a towel to dry.

Once the water beads are back to their original size, store them in a container with an airtight lid. When you are ready to use the water beads again, add water!

Be on the lookout for the used water beads to get moldy. If you notice mold on your water beads, do not reuse them and dispose of them.