Here are a bubble solution recipe and activities from Trish Kuffner’s “The Children’s Busy Book” (Meadowbrook Press, $9.95):

All-Purpose Bubble Solution

Mix 7-10 parts water, 1 part dish soap and a tablespoon or two of glycerin in a bowl.

Giant bubble

What you need: string; two drinking straws; bubble solution; large, flat baking pan

What you do: Thread a length of string through two straws. Tie the ends together to make a loop. Leave as much slack string between the straws as you like, depending on the size of bubble you want.

Pour bubble solution into a large, shallow baking pan. Hold one straw in each hand, leaving the string hanging slack between them. Dip the straw-and-string loop into the bubble solution, then lift it out slowly, taking care not to break the film of bubble solution. Pull the straws apart until the string is taut, then hold the bubble film in front of a fan of the wind and watch a giant bubble take shape!

Other ideas

¢ Dip one end of a straw into bubble solution. Blow through the other end of the straw to make bubbles.

¢ Cut each of two straws in half. Tape the four short straws together in a bunch. Dip one end of the bunch into bubble solution and blow through the other end.

¢ Wet part of a tabletop with bubble solution. Dip a drinking straw into the solution. Blow a large dome-shaped bubble on the tabletop. Release the bubble, then insert your straw in it and blow into the straw to form a smaller bubble inside the big one.

¢ Dip the wide end of a funnel into bubble solution. Blow through the narrow end to form interesting bubble shapes.

¢ Dip a set of plastic rings from a beverage six-pack in bubble solution and wave it through the air.