Pinterest Science Day!

 I have tried lots of Pinterest stuff and, as most of us have learned, a lot of it is a LIE!  Most recently, our little Leah was very excited about using her bubbles and wand to blow “ice bubbles” outside in the snow.  I should have done a trial run before I even mentioned it to her.  I don’t know if she trusts my “fun ideas” anymore.

That brings us to today.  I told her we were going to do some science experiments today.  I knew I could pull off the baking soda and vinegar volcano (she LOVED it) but I also wanted to try a new “pin” that I saw- rainbow slime!  (I use the term “science” very loosely round here.  As far as I’m concerned, if you are mixing two things together and they turn into something all together different- that’s science.  Don’t judge, she’s only 3.)

So anyway- the pin.  It said to mix 1 ½ cups of clear glue with 1 ½ cups liquid starch together and then separate into different bowls and a few drops of food coloring to each bowl, then put back together for “rainbow slime”.

My first mistake was the “clear glue”.  All I could find was “clear tacky glue” and since the pinner didn’t specify, I thought it was fine.  When I looked for “liquid starch” all I found was “non-aerosol spray starch”.   As it turns out, the starch I bought was correct but the glue wasn’t.   It didn’t work- not to mention that the food coloring stained my hands.  I should have known- I hate all the posts that have activities for kids that involve food coloring- bad idea in my book.

I read further into the pinner’s post and, as an after thought, it says she used ”clear Elmer’s glue”.  There was the problem.  All we had was regular white Elmer's glue so I used that and instead of food coloring I mixed in gold glitter (purchased for a previously failed Pinterest activity). 

It worked!  And so cool!!  Leah wouldn’t touch it but she laughed her little head off watching me play with her “sparkle slime!”

So, here is the recipe I used:

Equal parts liquid starch and Elmer’s glue (white or clear- would probably look nicer with clear)

A bunch of glitter!

Mix it together with your hands until it’s all combined and forms a loose “ball”.  It should form a ball when you roll it between your palms but when you stop moving it, it should “melt” through your fingers and be like, well, slime!  (warning- the liquid starch I bought smells like straight fabric softener- very strong fabric softener.  It's not a bad smell but it's strong and the smell isn't washing off.  If you are sensitive to that sort of thing be aware.  I'm on the verge of a migraine.)

When we were finished Leah said “thank you for making it for me!”  Job well done today and the TV was off at least! Ha!  I put it in a small tupperware when we were done- hopefully it will keep!