I love trying out different materials that allow me to experience a variety of textures. Today I am having fun with squishy bags! Squishy bags are super easy to make, and they are fun to just feel, or can be a great way to practice writing letters, numbers, and shapes.

To begin, you will want to gather flour, water, food coloring, a bowl, a spoon, and a ziplock bag.

Place a cup of four in the bowl.

Add 10 Tablespoons of water and about 20 drops of food coloring. This is a great time to practice your counting! Count as you pour each Tablespoon of water into the bowl. Can you count to 10? Of course you can! Now count the drops of food coloring as you drip them in. Don’t forget to stop at 20!

Now it is time to mix. Gently stir the ingredients together until they are smooth. I actually continued to stir a little longer after I took the picture so that my mixture could have a very smooth texture.

Pour the mixture into a ziplock bag. I used a quart-size freezer bag. I like the freezer bags because they are stronger and are less likely to tear or leak. Seal the bag, being careful to squish out any air as you do so.

Carefully spread the mixture throughout the bag so that it will lay flat, and you are done! You have a squishy bag ready to go!

I like to use a piece of duct tape to seal the end. It just helps the zipper to stay closed, but the bag works fine without it. Just be careful not to pop it open!

Try tracing your finger around on the bag. How does it feel? Try pressing gently, or hard. Do your lines look different when you press harder? Try tracing with something else, maybe a cotton swab. Which works better, your finger or the swab? What else could you try? Maybe draw letters, numbers, or shapes. Use your imagination and experiment with your squishy bag!