I’ve seen several “recipes” for slime floating around on Pinterest and knew that it would be right up Lil’ CB’s alley – he loves all things messy and had a blast making Playdough and Cloud Dough, so I knew this gooey sensory play would be another fun addition to our repertoire! We included this activity on this year’s Summer Fun List and I figured we’d save it as a rainy day activity, but this week it was well into the 100s with the heat index so did it on a WAY-too-hot-to-be-outside day instead.

The recipe for slime is fairly simple: it’s equal parts liquid glue and water and some diluted Borax. There’s some science-y stuff about polymers and molecules in there, but you don’t have to understand it to have fun with it! However, you do have to know to what Borax is and where to find it. Confession: I had no idea what it was prior to this activity and couldn’t separate it from super offensive Borat. Upon research, I found out that it is a “natural” detergent — sodium borate, a chemical compound. It has many household uses and it can be found in the laundry aisle at the store  (at our Target it was next to the OxyClean).

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Here’s how we made our slime:

We used an entire 5 oz container of clear Elmer’s glue — you can also use regular white glue, but the clear makes it look more slimy! Empty the glue into a medium size bowl. Then, fill the empty glue bottle with warm water and add it to the glue.

Add some food coloring to the glue/water mixture and stir it around. We used a wooden chopstick!

Measure out another 1/2 cup of warm water. Add about a teaspoon of Borax to the water and stir it around.

Slowly pour the diluted Borax to the glue/water mixture, stirring as you add it in. Right away you’ll notice the glue start to bond together, forming a slimy substance!

The more Borax you add, the firmer the slime…we ended up adding in all the Borax and our slime turned into a Flubber-like substance that bounced around when you shaped it into little balls! It was incredibly fun, but I think next time, we’ll add a little less Borax. Regardless of how firm your slime is, though, your little one is bound to have a blast stretching it out and playing around with it!

Slime cleans off with soap and water and can also be stored in airtight containers for later play, too. Enjoy!

*Disclaimer: while this is an incredible fun sensory experience, it is definitely an activity for older toddlers/preschoolers. Borax, like other chemicals, is harmful if swallowed and little ones should be monitored carefully while having fun with slime.