Storytime Anytime-Slime!

CAUTION: This storytime may get a teensy bit messy! Okay, probably more than a teensy bit, but I promise you that it will be totally worth it!

 Before we get into the books I am going to talk about the activity. If you look online there are a gazillion recipes for goo, slime, ooze, playdough, puffy paint, etc. but I am going to give you my favorite one to do (which also happens to be the easiest).  There are only 2 ingredients: cornstarch and water. You do not need exact measurements; just pour some cornstarch in a bowl and add water until it looks liquid but feels solid when you give it a quick tap on the surface. As you can see from the picture it looks like a bowl of milk (unless you add food coloring).

Now for the fun stuff. Scoop up some of the goo into your hand and try rolling it into a ball. If you move your hands quickly you can do this. Stop moving your hands and hold them out, palms up. The goo should look like ice cream melting. It is fun to play with even when you are an adult, right?

This video gives the scientific explanation for why the cornstarch and water mixture feels like a solid, but can also flow like a liquid.  If I had the money to go out and buy  a couple hundred boxes of cornstarch I would totally fill up a giant vat so I could run across it!

Quicksand is also a non-Newtonian fluid. Try putting a Lego figure in the goo and watch him sink. Now have your child try to pull him out and see how hard it is to do.

The most obvious book to read before or after playing with slime is Bartholomew and the Oobleck by Dr. Seuss. You will just need to color your cornstarch and water with green food coloring first so it looks like oobleck.

If you have a little boy (or girl) who is obsessed with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles you can pretend that the slime is radioactive ooze. They actually sell official Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle ooze, but I guarantee that cornstarch, water, and a few drops of green food coloring is cheaper.

Still going with green goo, you can pretend that it is snot and read a book about the human body. I Love You Nose, I Love You Toes by Linda Davick is an excellent book about the parts of the body for toddlers and preschoolers.








 



Slime also goes perfectly with any of the Black Lagoon books by Mike Thaler. Of course, my personal favorite is The Librarian from the Black Lagoon.