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Take your slime game to the next level! Shaving cream makes this special concoction soft, squishy, and irresistible.

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Add 3 cups of shaving cream to the mixing bowl.

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Drip some food coloring into the shaving cream. Mix well! 

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Stir in ½ cup of white glue and ½ teaspoon of baking soda.  

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Add 1 tablespoon of contact lens solution to the mixture and continue mixing. If the mixture becomes too sticky to mix with a spoon, start kneading with your hands! 

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And there you have it, the perfect fluffy slime recipe! This slime is great for sensory play, stress relief, and just plain fun. Plus, it's super easy to customize with different colors or glitter. We hope you and your kids enjoy making and playing with this fluffy slime as much as we do!

shaving cream (3 cups)

food coloring - assorted colors

white glue (1/2 cup)

baking soda (1/2/ teaspoon)

contact lens solution (1 tablespoon)

mixing bowl

spoon

Fluffy Slime

indoor project

One of the more popular activities on my blog is Water Beads, and I'm sharing this project as an EDIBLE water bead alternative. Water Beads are polymer beads that absorb water...not edible!! Boba Balls, on the other hand, are tapioca pearls ("Boba" means "big pearls") made from the starch of the cassava root. When they absorb enough liquid, they have the texture of a soft gummy bear and are entirely edible by children capable of eating gummy snacks.Looking for a place for your little explorer to dive into sensory crafts? <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo's</a> <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/water-and-sand-sensory-table/5455" target="_self">Sensory Table</a> is adjustable, high quality, and designed to maximize fun!

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Because I like to drag projects out and milk them for all they're worth, I started by pouring the dry boba balls (found in our local Asian market) into a cake tray and let my kids sort and pour them before adding any water.

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When this step exhausted itself, I followed the directions on the package and cooked the boba balls right up. Essentially, you boil water, pour in the boba, and cook in boiling water until the balls float. Then you let it sit for a few minutes to absorb more water and get a bit softer. I noticed that the instructions vary by brand, so it's best to follow the directions that come with your boba. Once the boba is ready, it can be added to tea or milk.

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It's so pretty to look at, and my 3-year old enjoyed mixing it up. But she rejected it as a food product in favor of recognizing it as an art material.

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The texture is much gooier than the Water Beads, and the shelf life seemed almost non-existent. After playing with the Boba for the morning, they were a sticky mess and ready for the trash can. But on a sensory level, my 1-year old especially enjoyed playing with these little tapioca pearls and making them couldn't have been any easier.

tapioca pearls

water

Sensory Play with Tapioca Pearls

Halloween

quick craft

It's so fun to get your hands dirty and play with squishy, slimy, ooze! Here's how my son and I made slime with cornstarch. Since my son's favorite is green, he decided neon green was the perfect shade for his cornstarch slime.Want more slimey science fun without the hassle of gathering materials? Explore the science of thermochromism with <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/color-changing-slime-project-kit/2948">Color Changing Slime</a> from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store">KiwiCo Store</a>!

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We started by dumping a 1/4 cup of water into a turkey roasting pan. The tall sides of the roasting pan helped keep the water from flowing over the edges.

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My enthusiastic little slime chef also added 1/2 cup of cornstarch.

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He added three drops of food coloring (a little goes a long way!) to get the slime to a satisfactory shade of neon green.

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Now we're getting to the good stuff! My son loved mixing his concoction with his hands (although you can stir the mixture with a spoon if you'd like). 

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Ooze is fun to play with on its own, but of course my son wanted to add a toy into the mix! He had lots of fun slithering his rubber snake around in the cornstarch slime--and the snake created lots of cool textures and patterns. All in all, a fantastic (if a bit messy!) activity that my son really loved. Oh, and here's a tip: If your slime starts to harden, just add a bit of water to make it fluid again.

corn starch (1/2 cup)

water (1/4 cup)

food coloring (3 drops, green)

Make Slime With Cornstarch

experiment

easy experiment

If you’ve ever wondered why it might be hard to get out of quicksand, it’s because it can act like both a liquid and a solid. Cornstarch slime is a fun substance that does this too! When a substance like this has properties of both liquids and solids, they are called non-Newtonian fluids, which you’ll learn more about in this experiment. You’ll also explore what interactions make it go from one state to another. When you slowly press your fingers into cornstarch slime —stored in a Ziploc bag —it’ll feel like a liquid. But when you quickly press your fingers into it, it becomes as hard as a rock! Why do you think that is?Want more slimey science fun without the hassle of gathering materials? Explore the science of thermochromism with <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/color-changing-slime-project-kit/2948" target="_self">Color Changing Slime</a> from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo Store</a>!

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Pour two cups of cornstarch into the bag.

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Add a few drops of food coloring to the water until you get a color you like.

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Pour a cup of water into the bag (avoid filling the bag more than halfway) and mix with the cornstarch until it’s the consistency of runny cake batter. (If it’s too thick, add an additional tablespoon of water.)

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With both hands, apply pressure quickly and feel how the cornstarch slime becomes firm and solid.

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Release it and feel the mixture become runny once again in the bag. Experiment with the speed at which pressure is applied. Poke it fast and poke it slow. You just made a non-Newtonian fluid!

We all know that certain substances change from solids to liquids to gases with temperature: water freezes to become ice or boils to become steam. But for non-Newtonian fluids, this change happens based on pressure instead of temperature. If you push down slowly with your fingers, the substance stays liquid, making a well around your fingers. If you push down quickly, it becomes firm beneath your fingers. If you had a life-size tub of cornstarch slime, how would you run across it? With fast stomps or slow steps? 

ziploc bag

corn starch

food coloring

Cornstarch Slime

quick experiment

STEM

science experiment

baking soda experiments

Floam (a.k.a. crunchy slime) is a super fun ooey gooey substance that is a mixture of slime and foam beads!

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Gather your materials. You’ll need ½ cup glue, ½ cup shaving cream,  ⅛ cup water, 1 ½ tbsp contact solution, ¼ tsp baking soda, ½ cup foam beads, and liquid colors.

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Pour 1 cup glue, ⅛ cup water, and ¼ tsp baking soda into the bowl. Mix!

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Add 1 ½ tbsp contact solution & mix!

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Use your hands to knead the slime until it is firm. Add more contact solution if it is too sticky.

More contact solution = less sticky and firmer slime!

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Add ½ cup shaving cream and knead until fully incorporated.

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Add ½ cup foam beads! We used a mixture of white & multi-colored beads. Knead until fully incorporated.

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Play with your crunchy slime!

Floam is made of slime and slime is non-Newtonian fluid! This means that it defies the laws of classical physics. How cool is that?! Slime starts with a polymer base, which in our case is glue. A “polymer” is a chemistry term for a substance that’s made of many little chains of molecules– “poly” means “many”, and “mer” means part in Greek. These chains easily slide past each other, which allows polymers to stretch and deform really easily. But when we add our activator, contact solution, it causes a chemical reaction that links some of these polymer chains together. These extra linkages between the chemical chains in the glue make the mixture stiffer. However, these cross-linkages break and deform easily, which is why slime feels more solid than glue, but is still super stretchy.Common activators for slime recipes are contact solution, powdered laundry detergent, and Borax. All of these contain boric acid which causes the chemical reaction!Fun fact: The hagfish is an eel-like fish that can release a chemical that turns the water around it into sticky slime. They do this to protect themselves from predators!

clear glue or white glue

baking soda

contact lens solution

Shaving Cream

foam beads

Crunchy Slime

Christmas

Christmas crafts

Welcome to our merry guide on Christmas Playdough! We are excited to share with you some creative ideas and recipes to make the most festive and fun playdough this holiday season.As we all know, the holiday season is a time for awesome group activities. Making Christmas-themed playdough is a great way to get in the holiday spirit while also engaging in a fun and educational activity with your family or classroom. In this guide, we'll cover everything you need to know to make your own Christmas playdough, including recipes, tips, decorating ideas, and more!

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.

Add in the vegetable oil and mix well. If you want to add holiday extracts (peppermint, cinnamon, etc), then add these now.

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Add in the boiling water and stir the mixture until it forms a dough-like consistency.

Divide the dough into separate balls for each color or type of playdough.

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Add in food coloring and any optional glitter or decorations and knead the dough until the color is even and the decorations are well-mixed.

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Play and have fun! What Holiday creations can you make?

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<h2>Tips for Making the Best Christmas Playdough</h2><ol><li>Use hot water when mixing the ingredients together for a smoother consistency.</li><li>Add in food coloring gradually to get the desired shade.</li><li>For extra sensory play, add in scents like peppermint or cinnamon.</li><li>Store your playdough in an airtight container to keep it fresh and reusable.</li><li>To avoid staining, use washable or non-toxic food coloring.</li></ol>

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<h2>Decorating Ideas for Christmas Playdough</h2>The best part about making playdough is the endless possibilities for decorating and creating. Here are some fun decorating ideas to try out:<ol><li>Make little snowmen, Christmas trees, or candy canes out of playdough.</li><li>Use cookie cutters to make Christmas shapes like stars or angels.</li><li>Use small decorations like pom poms, sequins, or beads to decorate your creations.</li><li>Use a rolling pin and cookie cutters to make ornaments for your Christmas tree.</li><li>Make miniature presents, complete with bows and ribbons.</li></ol>Happy Holidays!!

Have you ever wondered what makes it so squishy and moldable?First of all, playdough is made up of a few simple ingredients: flour, salt, water, oil, and cream of tartar. When these ingredients are mixed together, they undergo a chemical reaction that transforms them into a pliable dough. Here's what happens:Flour:Flour is made up of starch and gluten. When you add water to flour, the starch granules absorb the water and swell up. This creates a sticky, stretchy substance called gluten. Gluten is what gives playdough its elasticity and allows it to hold its shape.Salt:Salt is added to playdough for a few reasons. First of all, it acts as a preservative, keeping the dough fresh for longer. But it also helps to strengthen the gluten in the dough, making it even more elastic and stretchy.Water:Water is the key ingredient that activates the starch and gluten in the flour. Without water, the flour would just be a dry powder that wouldn't stick together.Oil:Oil is added to playdough to make it smooth and silky. It also helps to keep the dough from sticking to surfaces or drying out too quickly.Cream of tartar:Cream of tartar is a byproduct of wine production. It acts as a stabilizer in playdough, helping to prevent it from drying out or becoming too crumbly. It also makes the dough more pliable and easier to work with.When these ingredients are mixed together and kneaded, the gluten in the flour forms a network of elastic strands that trap the water and other ingredients. This is what gives playdough its unique texture and allows it to be molded into different shapes and forms.

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup salt

2 tbsp cream of tartar

2 tbsp vegetable oil

Red and green food coloring

1 cup of boiling water

glitter (optional)

Christmas Playdough

homemade craft

easy craft

cooking for kids

kid-friendly recipes

food science

This recipe for cloud dough is a treat to squish around and smells so good! 

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My daughter LOVES sensory play! Try this quirky-feeling cloud dough by adding one box of baking soda to a bowl. We added it to her designated sensory bin. You can make one too, out of a plastic container that has a tight-fitting or snapping lid.

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Next, pour in one packet of Kool-Aid drink mix. Any color and flavor will do -- pick your favorite! My daughter wanted pink lemonade!

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Give the baking soda and drink mix a good stir.

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Next, slowly add in some water and mix. Be careful not to add too much water or the cloud dough will be runny and too liquid. Add a little water at a time until it feels "mold-able".

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Have fun exploring your cloud dough and smelling it! My daughter loved the pink color!

baking soda (1 box)

kool-aid

bowl

Cloud Dough

outdoor activities

outdoor experiments

playdate activities

science project

summer

summer fun

My daughter loves anything messy.  She'll find the tiniest spot of mud in the grass and find a way to cover herself in it.  So when I saw this flubber slime activity, I knew that the kids (and neighbors' kids) were in for a gooey-good time! Borax (sodium tetraborate) is a naturally-occurring mineral salt commonly used as a laundry booster or cleaner. As with any other cleaning product, it should be kept away from children not under direct supervision of an adult. Do not allow children to ingest Borax. If consumed, contact a poison control center immediately. Wash hands after play, as prolonged skin exposure may cause irritation. 

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Add 1/2 tsp of Borax to a bowl.  Then add 1 1/3 cups of hot water and stir. 


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In another bowl, add 2 cups of white school glue.  Then add 1 1/2 cups of hot water and stir well.

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Add a few drops of food coloring to get a color that the kids will like and then pour the Borax mixture into the glue mixture and stir.


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You can use strawberry baskets, but I had this great shopping basket, so we tied this up in our tree and poured the flubber in it.  Then I gave the kids children's scissors so they could try cutting the flubber.
We put a tub underneath the basket to catch the flubber.  Once the flubber ran it's course, we just took the tub and dumped it all back into the basket.



48 creative sensory activity projects for kids

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