Homemade Stress Ball

Homemade Stress Ball:

Having something to squeeze, pull, and play with when sitting or in a stressful situation helps to use up the adrenaline released when nervous about something. Making homemade fidgets is a great way to help kids use their imagination, fine motor skills, and when they make something themselves, they are more apt to want to use it!

Take a large, heavy latex balloon and blow it up, then let all the air out.

White balloons work well so you can see what is inside.

Make water beads or Goop (corn starch and water or glue, borax and water recipes online).  These are great sensory fun activities and when you are done playing with them, put them inside the balloon for a stress ball!

Or fill with sand or flour- fit the lip over the end of a funnel -- and fill the balloon with flour or sand, through the funnel. Use a pencil (eraser end) to tap the flour into the balloon -- and as the balloon fills, use your thumb to squish it down and work it away from the neck of the balloon, so that you can put even more flour inside.

Continue doing this until you really can't work any more flour in -- the balloon will look only very slightly "inflated" with the flour. Tie off the end -- and there, you have a stress ball. They are great for squeezing and squishing, and pulling into various shapes...and as you squish and squeeze, you are using up the adrenaline that is collecting in your muscles. 

To add some fine motor pincer grasp and release you can add some small beads, beans or popcorn kernals to add some texture to it.

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