Edible Jello Slime

Welcome to our Squishy Sunday Series!

Feeling a little bored today, want to have a little fun with the kiddos? How about creating a batch of Edible Jello Slime? This slime is only 2 ingredients + water, inexpensive to make, and turns out to be a pretty awesome texture.

Edible Jello Slime

Jello. Such a staple of my youth. It can be used as hair dye, flavoring in cookies and cakes, a tasty science experiment on states of matter, an amazing multicolor tasty treat, and (in later years) an excellent vessel for hard liquor. But with today’s kids preferring making slime over baking with mom, we have had to find new ways to include this fun product in our children’s memories. Don’t get me wrong, we still make jello cookies at least once a month, but this slime happens at least as often!

When looking for a new slime recipe, I know that I usually try to find one with ingredients I have on hand. When dealing with stir-crazy children, I’m usually looking for instant gratification. This slime, unfortunately, may require a trip to your local grocer (or you could just order it here on Amazon, and be ready to try it out in two days!). It is, however, totally worth it. The key ingredient in this slime is Psyllium. This is a plant product generally used as a fiber supplement. The brand name Metamucil is most commonly recognized, but for our slime, I actually prefer the off brands. Check your favorite store and read the label of their store brand fiber supplement. As long as the main ingredient is Psyllium, you are good to go!

Some awesome things about this particular slime:

It can be made without the Jello, making it a great dye-free, all natural recipe!
It is edible but does not taste particularly delicious. It is therefore safe for little ones who are prone to taste testing.
It is super easy, and anyone old enough to responsibly use the microwave can make it.

Bonus: According to Bug (6yo) and Boo (4yo) this is the absolute best ‘noisy’ slime [read: it makes great fart noises] we have made. Just grab a small container and try to squish it in. So many giggles!

Let’s Make It!

To make this slime you will need:

1 tbsp of Powdered Psyllium Husk Fiber supplement
1 cup of water
1 large microwavable bowl
1/2 packet of Jello or several drops of food coloring in desired color.

First mix water and Fiber Supplement in a large microwavable bowl.

Add Jello or food coloring if desired. (For a Dye-Free recipe, you can just leave this step out).

Place bowl in the microwave for 3 minutes. It should start to bubble up after 2.

Let bowl sit in microwave for 1 minute, then turn on for another 3 minutes.

Remove from microwave and let cool for 3-5 minutes. The slime should solidify as it cools. Check the texture, and if it is still wet or not as stretchy as you prefer, return to the microwave in 3 minute increments.

I have found 3-4 3 minute rounds in the microwave is usually sufficient to make a non-sticky, decently stretchy slime.

Make sure the slime is cool all the way through before giving it to children!

That’s it! It may take a bit longer to make than some slimes, but the results are definitely worth the wait!

Have fun and let us know how your Edible Jello Slime turns out!

Check back next week for more Squishy fun

[This post contains affiliate links for which I may receive a commision, at no additional cost to you.]

3 Ingredient Glitter Slime

It’s all the rage. Squishy, stretchy, often glittery. Slime has squeezed its way into the hearts of so many children and even some adults! It makes a fantastic stress reliever, an easy mess-free fidget, and it’s even a great science experiment as there are many variations to try.

Today we made our own slime using a variation I found at My Frugal Adventures.

Sunday Morning Slime Experiment

This version of borax free Glitter Glue Slime uses ingredients I had on hand, and took less than a minute to make, even with little hands helping. This alone gives it 4 stars in my book, and the fact that it makes perfectly textured, pretty slime every time makes that 5th star a no-brainer. All three of my girls were really excited to be able to conduct an experiment on this cold, rainy morning. I was really excited that said experiment promised to be fun and fairly mess free.

After playing for a few minutes, Bug excused herself to go upstairs, which I found a bit odd. However, she returned quickly with a bin full of Shopkins, Hatchimals, and other tiny plastic toys. This turned out to be a brilliant idea and she, Boo and Baby K then spent over 30 minutes hiding little toys inside their slime and challenging each other to guess who was inside. It was a bit chaotic, and there was occasional shouting (“No! How could it be Delish Donut in my slime when you just had her and Beverly Heels in your own slime!”) but all in all it kept them happy and busy for quite a bit.

Making Glitter Glue Slime

So what, you ask, do you need to get your own half an hour of peace?

4oz of Elmer’s glue (we used glitter glue, but you could use any kind and add your own coloring, glitter, or small objects)
1/2 tbsp baking soda
1 tbsp Contact Solution (make sure the brand you use contains boric acid)

That’s it. Pour the glue into a bowl. (We used a 6oz bottle and just estimated.) If you are adding color, glitter or any other extras, now is the time to mix them in. Sprinkle the baking soda on top, mix until there are no lumps and then pour in the contact solution.

Use a popsicle stick, unsharpened pencil, handle of a spoon, other solid stick like object or just a finger to quickly mix the ingredients. The slime will form very quickly. Once everything has solidified (there will be some solution left in the bowl) pick up the slime and work in hands until no longer wet or sticky. The whole process should take about a minute.

Now put out some little things to hide, some containers to fill and some fun things to squish with, and sit yourself down with a cup of coffee! (Ok, be responsible and load the dishwasher first. You have time!)

Check back next week

[This post contains affiliate links for which I may receive a commision, at no additional cost to you.]

What is Sensory Play?

Sensory Play for All Children!

Sensory Play.

You’ve heard those words, but what does sensory play mean, and why is it so very important? Sensory play isn’t just ‘play’. It is learning and developing at a very basic level. Children use sensory to learn about the world around them, even before they can talk or begin to understand the concepts behind it.

As the mom of a child with sensory input issues, we have always made sure to include tons of sensory activities in our daily routines. These vary from small activities such as playdoh and water play, to large motor games such as obstacle courses and trampoline time. We also spend a lot of time doing things that have sensory play built right in: swimming, beach time, playgrounds, gymnastics, rain walks, and bike rides. I’ve found that even my two other children with no input issues benefit greatly from this extra emphasis on sensory during the day.

How you ask?

Sensory Play builds vocabulary.

Hard, soft, squishy, crinkly, hot, cold, smooth, rough. These are words that are difficult to describe, especially to a small child. They can however be easily experienced. It is much easier to introduce words like soft, smooth and squishy while playing with a nice soft batch of playdoh. These describing words are critical to a child’s vocabulary, as it allows them to explore and talk about the world around them. It builds confidence and a foundation for creating an extensive vocabulary later in life.

Sensory Play provides answers to question kids didn’t even know they had.

When children play, they often discover things that are amazing. A child playing with playdoh knows it will squish, but how amazing when they figure out that the large ball of playdoh can actually be shoved into that tiny hole! Or when the blue and yellow playdoh they are creating with suddenly turns green! These are learning experiences your child has created all by themselves. Most sensory based activities are very open ended and leave tons of room for exploration

Sensory Play in important to a child’s physical development.

Sensory play helps children develop both fine motor skills and gross motor skills. This makes them equally as important to babies and toddlers as it does for older children. The sooner children begin to develop their motor system, the sooner they can begin to explore their world. As children begin to explore, sensory experiences are much more likely to stick in a child’s memory. They engage the senses, and therefore are more cognitively rewarding that other forms of learning.

Sensory Play is FUN!

Not only is Sensory Play a great learning tool, its fun! Children will often be entertained for hours on end without even knowing they are growing their brain. My children’s most requested activities are all sensory play activities!

Check out some of our other posts for some great ideas have fun with Sensory Play with your little one today!

10 SQUISHY Sensory Ideas

Squishy Sensory Play!

We love sensory play around here. Seriously, it’s like 80% of our waking hours involve some sort of sensory stimulation. While we love gross motor activities, sometimes you need to bring it down a few notches. That’s when you find something to entertain and stimulate while sitting down! This list of Squishy Sensory Play ideas are awesome for children who need to fidget, without encouraging them to get out of their seat. Win! As an added bonus, on a homeschool level, many of these great ideas can be used as science experiments if you get the kiddo involved in the creating process, instead of just the finished product.

(This post may include affiliate links for which I may receive a commission)

Top 10 Tuesday

1. Make your own playdoh! – This takes only minutes, is an awesome science and learning activity in itself, and makes the softest, squishiest dough around. You can add scents for an added sensory bonus. We like peppermint, lavender and citrus essential oils for everyday play and spices like allspice, pie spices and cinnamon for the winter holidays!
2. Sensory Squishers- Kids love to squish! Start out with some colorful balloons. Fill them with rice, shaving cream, baking soda, beans, cotton, sugar, salt, sand, marbles, water, or even some of that awesome playdoh you just made! Anything you have laying around that will squish into a balloon will work! Fill the balloons tie them up and put them in a basket. Instant fun for kids of all ages! You can even add some string hair to the top and draw some silly faces 🙂 For older children you could even number them and write a master list. They will have a great time trying to figure out what is inside of each balloon using just their sense of touch!
3. Water Beads! – If you have little kids and you haven’t found these, you are missing out on a lot of busy kid time! My children will play with these forever! They can be squished, swished, mixed, dumped, poured… there are so many ways to play. You may even find your hand in the water squishing with the kids! They come in large numbers (usually several thousand) because they start out as teeny tiny plastic beads. Add a couple tablespoons (no more!) to a large container of water, such as a plastic bin or kiddie pool, and watch as they grow (takes about 20 minutes). Then set your little ones free with bowls, cups and spoons. Mine love to hide small toys and then swish around to find them! For extra fun try a water bead bath! Just make sure they are collected before the plug comes out, as I wouldn’t trust them in the drain. When they are out of water they will dry up and return to their original size. They can, however, be kept in water (and easily accessible for play) for a very long time. Beware, once they are filled with water these little suckers are VERY bouncy!
4. Fluffy Stuff – Its amazing what you can make with 1 box of simple corn starch and 1 can of shaving cream! Just dump a box of corn starch in a large bowl (this is fun to feel all by itself!) and then start squirting in shaving cream (we get ours at Dollar Tree!). They take a few squishy minutes to combine, but keep at it and in no time you will have a big batch fluffy stuff to play with! This is about as simple as it gets folks! This will keep for about a week in an air tight container but it will get a little less squishy and a little more moldable as time goes by.
5. Silly Putty – Everyone loves silly putty! This one has been all the rage with a lot of the older kids lately, but the little ones love it too! This isn’t a good one to have children help make, but playing with it will entertain them more than enough. You need a few simple ingredients: Liquid Starch ( I’m sure a lot of kinds will work but we use this one), white glue, and some liquid food coloring. Mix equal parts liquid starch, white glue, and food coloring. Mix well, and then wait about 5 minutes. Scoop out the solid bit and dump out the rest of the liquid. Now squish away! Different color putties can be mixed together after the are completed, but it will take a few minutes to incorporate them. For even more fun add some sparkly glitter or small beads to the finished putty.
6. Kool Aid Slime – I always wanted to make slime, but i never wanted to have my babies playing with borax! Not safe. This great slime is made with all non-toxic, edible (though not particularly yummy) ingredients. Check out the instructions from Growing A Jeweled Rose.
7. Kool Aid Foam – Another great idea we got from Growing A Jeweled Rose (I love this blog!) Uses Kool Aid and dish soap to make fantastic bubbly fun!
8. Kinetic sand – This stuff is pretty darn cool. We have some store bought and we’ve tried the home made kind. Both are pretty good! I suggest making a good amount as everyone, including parents are going to want to play with this stuff! You need 1 cup of play sand, 1/2 tbs corn starch and about 3/4 a cup of warm water. You can add a small squirt of dish soap to the water, but I don’t find it to make much of a difference. I also like to add food coloring, liquid water colors and/or essential oils with the water. Simply dump in the sand and corn starch, mix it around and slowly add the water. Pour a little, mix a little, repeat until the sand is the consistency you want. That’s it! Play away! And don’t forget to save some for yourself 😉
9. Marshmallow Playdough – This is a relatively new discovery at my house, but a huge hit. Marshmallows + Playdoh. How could you go wrong?? Place 5-7 large marshmallows (or the equivalent of smaller marshmallows. A cup maybe?), a 1/4 cup of corn starch and 2tsp of coconut oil in a microwave safe bowl. Heat on high for 30-35 seconds. Remove the bowl and add 10-12 drops of food coloring to the oil or marshmallows. Use a big spoon and mix until the ingredients are well combined and form a ball. If necessary add another scoop of corn starch. Now let the kiddos at it! Be sure to use a mat or parchment paper as it does get a bit greasy from the coconut oil!
10. Clean Mud – An oldie but goodie! This one was always a huge hit in my daycare classes. All you need is a roll or 2 of cheap toilet paper, a cheap bar of soap grated or cut into small pieces and some nice warm water. I always found it most productive to have the kiddos tear the toilet paper into a million pieces and put it in a large plastic bin, while I worked on grating the soap. Pour the soap bits in with the shredded toilet paper and add warm water 1/2 cup at a time and get everyone involved in the squishing! It will take a few minutes for the soap and tissue to dissolve but when it does every thing will come together into a mud like substance that is super fun and completely clean! Mom win!
11. Bonus! Ivory Cloud – Speaking of soap… have you ever stuck Ivory Soap in your microwave? If not, you have to try it! Like today. Take a bar and put it on a microwave safe plate or bowl, and then pull up a chair! Microwave the soap on high for 1:30 or 2 minutes. It will grow to a giant cloud! Let it cool off for a minute or two and then explore! After your kids have crumbled and squished to their hearts content you can use the powder to make the Clean Mud above!!

Do you have any great SQUISHY Sensory ideas for little ones? Make sure to share in the comments, or just let me know which ones worked best at your house!

Check back next week for Top Ten Tuesday!

3 Giggling Twirls

What is a little girl? A sassy giggle that Twirls!

Tag: Sensory