How to make slime

Call it gak. Call it slime. Just don’t call it messy, because this amazing stuff is easier to clean up than playdough and offers as much tactile fun as the dreaded finger-painting. So if you have found yourself saying, “I am not THAT mom, the one who does craft projects,” this is one that might be worth changing your tune for.

On a recent sick day, Julian and I made slime, and then thought it was hilarious to pretend our slime was a spilled smoothie. We staged a photo with an overturned cup.

Don’t worry, folks, this stuff peels right up and can be rolled into a ball!

We followed a recipe for making slime shared by our preschool director.

What you need:

1- bowl
2- teaspoon
3- tall canister or cup
4- measuring cup

I’m pretty sure you have these things in your house. Now when I say you need:

5- food coloring
6- Borax (a certain type of laundry powder that can also be used to kill ants, hmmm)
7- 4 oz of white glue (the size of container in the picture is 4oz, you can buy bigger sizes too)

I know it sounds like a pain because you may not have these things, however you can find them at Target (or get ‘em now from amazon, links provided). Pick them up next time you shop, and store them for a time when you feel a surge of “I’m willing to try an unfamiliar project” energy. Or, assign the whole activity to Grandma on her next visit.

{They also sell all the gak ingredients as a kit}

Instructions:

Empty glue into canister. (Rest assured, it does wash out easily.)

Add an equal amount of water to glue, along with a few drops of food color, if you like, and stir.

Next dissolve a teaspoon of Borax in water. We used a cup, but it seems like half a cup would have been fine.

Now, add colored glue solution to bowl and mix. This is the grossest-looking step.

After the slime began to form, I encouraged Julian to put his hands in there and begin squishing it together. I figured if it was a failure at this point, he was at least getting some gooey pleasure out of it. I quickly realized we could just pour out the excess water and we now had ourselves a hunk of slime.

Fun things to do with slime:

• Put small plastic animals, chunky beads, or pennies inside (for kids who won’t swallow those things.)
• Roll it into a long snake and make letters
• Cut it with scissors
• Stab holes in it with a plastic fork (protect your table first!) and watch the holes melt away

Things not to do with slime:

• Drop it on carpet
• Eat it
• Get it on upholstery (not tragic, but inconvenient.)
• Leave it out. (Store your slime in a resealable bag in the fridge.)