Kids love to make things while they are at home because their imaginations tend to get the best of them when they are bored. Contrary to children’s beliefs, they do actually like to learn about different things.
The biggest hurdles’ kids give themselves with school work is they think school is boring and they don’t like reading, math and science classes. These two subjects go hand in hand actually. You need to know your math skills in order to succeed in science classes.
Now you are probably wondering what does school subjects have to do with homemade slime right? Sure you are! Well there is a reason that I brought these two subjects up. When you get your children involved in craft projects like homemade slime, you are actually teaching them math and science skills. This is a really tricky idea to teach your children science and math isn’t it? Sure is.
After all, they have to know how to measure the ingredients. This involves the subject of math. Your kids will have to know how to read the instructions on how to exactly measure the ingredients for the recipe, in this case we will call it formula, to make the slime. The formula is where the science comes in.
You and your kids are now going to create a home science project through making homemade slime. The trick is to not let them know they are actually working on their reading, math, and science skills. You, as the parent, can cleverly disguise this learning experience as a fun toy or craft project. Following along?
Now onto the homemade slime project.
Materials Needed for the Homemade Slime
• Borax. You can find Borax on the laundry detergent aisle in your local supermarket. Borax usually can be found in a green box with the name of 20 Mule Team.
• White glue. You can use Elmer’s glue for this project and you can find it in the school supply area.
• Food coloring. Food coloring is optional, but kids like to have their toys, especially slime, to have color. Food coloring can be found on the baking aisle with the spices.
• Plastic Storage Bags. The plastic storage bags will be used to mix and store the homemade slime. You can find the storage bags on the paper aisle where paper towels, paper napkins, and things like this are kept.
• Measuring cups and spoons. These are used to measure your ingredients and you should have them on hand already. However, if you wish to not use your set that you use for cooking, purchase a cheap set at the store and store them for future kid craft projects.
Recipe and Directions for Making Homemade Slime
1 tablespoon Borax
1/4 cup white glue
1 cup water
1/4 cup water
Food Coloring
Plastic Storage Bag
Mix one cup of water with one tablespoon of the borax until the borax is dissolved. This will make a 4 percent solution of water and borax.
Mix 1/4 cup of water and 1/4 cup of white glue thoroughly. This will make a 50/50 solution of water and glue.
In the plastic storage bag, add equal parts of the borax and glue solutions. ½ cup of each of the solution will make a full cup of slime.
Add two drops of food coloring.
Seal the bag and knead the mixture until fully mixed.
The homemade slime is now ready to play with. You will want to place the slime back into the bag when finished and store in the refrigerator so it will keep longer.
If it dries out or grows mold, throw it out and make a new batch of slime.
Safety Precautions
Due to the borax, the slime should not be fed to animals or children. Hands should be washed before playing with the slime to keep the mold from growing on it. Hands should be washed after playing with the slime to insure none goes in the mouth.
Explanation
The borax acts as a cross linking agent for the glue molecules. The joining of the glue molecules forms larger molecules called polymers. This causes a thickened gel that is similar to the slime that has been made.
Substitutions
You can substitute blue starch for the borax.
You can use a 4 percent solution of polyvinyl alcohol in place of the glue for a less rubbery slime and use a transparent polyvinyl alcohol to show off the colors better.
Anyone that has kids will understand how hard it is to get your kids to do their homework. After all, this can be used as a science project for one of those millions of school projects they have to do each year.
