Stress Balls, Anyone?

I think I mentioned in an earlier post how much  I liked Pinterest.  I have found so many neat ideas I want to try with/for my students.  In all my browsing I ran across homemade stress balls.  I didn't really think much about it, other than it was a neat idea.  Here are a few examples of what I'm talking about.  You can follow the links like I did for further instructions.  I didn't even actually pin these until tonight when I was gathering my pictures to post for the blog, but these are the inspiration for the stress balls I made.

 http://www.playcreateexplore.com/2011/07/playdough-filled-balloons.html

 

 http://pre-schoolplay.blogspot.com/2011/07/stress-ball-balloons.html

So anyway, last week I had a girl in my office who was talking about how she had a lot of anxiety and anger issues a few years ago.  She mentioned that she saw the school counselor at her previous school (in another district) about it.  What struck me though, was when she said that the only thing that really helped her was when that school counselor gave her a balloon full of sand.  She used to carry it around and squish it when she felt worried, upset, stressed, etc.  My mind instantly pictured the things I had browsed on Pinterest.  I pretty much decided then and there that I was gonna make some myself.

I already had some kiddos in mind that I thought would benefit from them.  So, that night I had to go into town anyway, so I made an extra stop at Hobby Lobby.  I picked up some baloons and some sand in a jar.

When I got home and looked everything back up again I saw the ideas for using play-doh and other things like rice and pasta.  I knew I had some play-doh around the house - I have three children after all.  So I got some of that down from the high shelf when the girls were in bed.  Yes, I stole play-doh from my children....it was for a good cause though.

 As you can see, we are in no shortage of play-doh.  This bag was actually full of empty cans for some reason, but I was able to scrounge around enough for two balls.  We have tons more upstairs in other baskets. 

 I have to admit, it looks kind of gross in there!  The actual process of getting the play-doh inside was interesting.  I blew the balloon up first to help stretch it some.  Then I held the neck of the balloon open with one thumb on each side.  I used my index finger to pick up the small pieces of play-doh and stuff them inside.  I stuffed and stuffed until I felt like I had a good amount in there.  After I shimmied the extra air out I tied off the end.  This is where it got interesting....I decided to put that balloon into another one, just for extra strength and durability.

The best comparison I can come up with to describe the process of putting a play-doh balloon inside an empty balloon would be like trying to put on a pair of Spanx that are two sizes too small.  It kept spilling out on all sides and I had to keep poking it down in there until I got it under control.  This is what my finished product looked like though.  I'm very happy with the outcome.

The sand brought new complications, mainly the possible mess it could create with one wrong move. Another worry was how to get the sand in there.  A regular funnel was just really too small.  So  I fashioned a funnel from a water bottle I had taken out of one of the girls' lunch boxes.  I just cut the end off with a pair of scissors.  It worked pretty good, because of the tight fit from the balloon neck.  It was an easy process to pour the sand in the balloon from there.

I didn't really know how much was a good amount, so I poured until I couldn't get the rest to go in.   Luckily I thought enough to step out on the front porch when I removed the balloon from the bottle.  Even though I had all the sand in there, it still sprayed some out just because of the force of it coming off.  It would not have been fun to sweep up a mess like that from my kitchen floor!

I made a second one and it went a little smoother.  I had figured out how to get the sand that had kind of bottle necked in spout to spread down into the balloon before I removed the bottle (funnel).

This is my finished product.  I have enough to make several more sand balloons because I actually have a whole other container of sand that is unopened.  Although I think my husband threw away my funnel when he cleaned the kitchen. :)

I think I like the balloons with play-doh better, they are softer and when you squish them they keep their shape.  I like the crunch sound of the sand ones though too.  Basically I ended with four balloons, and my fingers were killing me.  It is not something where you could sit down and whip out 15 or 20 at a time by yourself.  Balloons can hurt after a while.   I need to make a few each night until I have a good stockpile.  

Back to liking the play-doh ones better - The next day at school I offered the choice of balloons to two students and they both chose the play-doh ones.  They said they liked the way they felt, they seemed soft and smooth.  Then, after school my two school aged children confiscated the remaining sand balloons for themselves.  So, I won't be surprised if I don't find sand in the carpet upstairs one of these days.   Needless to say, I need to make more soon!

I actually plan to make several more and then keep them in both offices when the need arises.  They are easy things to just grab and give out to kids who are looking for ideas to help them feel better - a "quick fix" maybe, something to give them focus.  I like them too because it is something tangible they can physically take with them.  They are small and portable, so they go well in backpacks, or even hoodie pockets if needed, so they can be discrete if they want.  

Oh, and the student that gave me the idea originally was in my office again today and she had a small amount of play-doh that she was playing with as we spoke.  I thought that was interesting too.  One day I will share with her how she inspired me to do this project.

Well anyway, thanks for reading!  I would love to hear comments on things that you have used for the insides of stress balls, or any other comments, suggestions, or ideas that I can use as well. 

My next post is going to be about how I introduce myself to the 8th graders for the first time! :)