Just in time for Halloween: How to make slime.
Actually, the impetus for trying out this recipe was our trip to Oahu. While at the Aulani, Hudson went off to a Disney kids’ activity and came back with vague (but passionate) descriptions of lab coats and goggles, recipes of water mixing, and a plastic-bag filled with “space goo.” It was slimy and cool to the touch and it occupied him and his cousins for much of dinner that night. I knew I had to learn how to make it.
It turns out that it’s very simple and lots of fun. It’s not even that messy. And it’s been coming back out for what could more formally be called sensory play for weeks now.
Slime (aka Space Goo)
For 1-2 people, you’ll need:
1 4-ounce bottle of white glue
1 teaspoon borax powder
Food coloring (we used just a drop of red, but lime green would be perfect)
1-1/2 cups Water
2 large bowls
*Optional: Glitter
How to:
Empty contents of one bottle of glue into first bowl and mix with 1/2-cup of water.
Optional: Use phrases like “magic moon juice,” or “monster spit” for added effect.
Add food coloring. We just used one drop of red, but you could choose any color you like. You could also add sparkle with glitter.
In second bowl, mix 1 cup of water and teaspoon of borax powder.
Combine. It will be lumpy and only somewhat cohesive at first. Keeping kneading it until it forms a single mass and pour off the excess water into the other bowl as you work. The more you play with it, the more solid, less sticky, and more “out of this world” it will be.
Some notes:
- Supervise younger children carefully. Don’t eat the slime!
- Keep play to hard surfaces and off rugs. And out of hair. It does come out—phew—but it definitely sticks. (Hudson found the brain-matter-esque mass too tempting and we ended up in the shower with a comb and some warm water. Note the wet hair in last picture.)
- There are few things cooler that telling your 4-year-old to stick his hands into a goopy mess and have at it.
P.S. Baking with kids: yogurt-jar cake. And more Halloween ideas.
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