DIY Stress Ball Sensory Craft

3 balloons (round ones, not long ones)

Flour

Dry rice

Playdough

A funnel

A permanent marker

Pick three balloons and three different fillings: flour, rice, and playdough.

Stretch each balloon by blowing it up and letting the air back out.

Use a funnel to fill the first balloon with flour until it's tennis-ball sized. Tie it tightly.

Fill the second with rice and the third with a small ball of playdough.

Draw funny faces on each one with a permanent marker.

Hand all three to your child and let them squeeze, poke, and compare.

Talk about the differences: "Which one is squishiest? Which one crunches? When might you use a stress ball?"

Double-layer the balloons (one balloon inside another) to prevent popping and leaking.

Flour stress balls are the squishiest, rice ones crunch, and playdough ones hold their shape when squeezed — each is a different sensory experience.

These are genuinely useful self-regulation tools. Keep one in a backpack for calming on the go.

Let your child help with the funnel filling — it's great for hand coordination and patience.

If a balloon pops (and eventually one will), the contained mess is part of the learning. Replace and move on.