SUMMER BLOG CHALLENGE

Wednesday - How To Train Your Dragon 2

Summer actually doesn't start until this Saturday (June 21st, 2014) however, today's temperatures were near blistering. When I use to work in a Summer Camp, we would also schedule the kids recess or outside play during the morning hours when it is still cool outside. The humidity was high, but the girls (my nieces) went outside this morning to play since they were calling for over 90 degree weather (the news that night mentioned that, how the temp felt outside, actually reached triple digits). My nieces had been asking to go see How To Train Your Dragon 2, so I looked up the showtimes and we planned our day. After lunch we headed out to catch the flick. My nieces loved the movie. To see my first review click here. Once we returned home the girls retrieved their library books and did their half hour reading. Once the sun started going down, they faced the heat and humidity and return to playing on the awesome new(er) swing set out back until it was time to go home.

Friday's Activity: Glitter Goo

Since I have two nieces, I have to divide and conqueror. This way they can pick their own color and have their own Flubber so no one is fighting over who's is who's and quantity. While some like to do it as a group activity (I've done this in the past as well) for my nieces I decided to let them both do their own experimentation and project, this way they are both responsible for their own Glitter Goo in their own marked Ziplock bags.

What We Used:

2 6 oz. Elmer's Glitter Glue
2 teaspoon Borax
1 1/4 Cup Warm Water
Large Bowl
Ziplock Bag (for storage)

Typically when making Goo (aka Flubber or Gak) ingredients can vary. Since the glue that we picked out for this project is already colored and has fabulous glitter in it, we didn't feel the need to add food coloring. We might try mixing food coloring another time. For this project though, we are calling it Glitter Goo. My eldest niece (through elimination) picked the yellowish green glitter glue and my youngest niece picked the pink glitter glue.

Step 1:

Emptying Elmer's Glitter Glue into bowel

Empty the glue into a bowl (we used an old Pyrex bowl and a metal bowl). Next, measure out 3/4 cup water and add to the glue. I wouldn't measure out the entire 1 1/4 cup warm water, by the time you empty the glue and get ready to add the water it will be cold. If you have a running faucet available, I typically just run the hot water until desired warmth and then have the children measure out 3/4 cup and add to their glue that is already in the bowl. Some suggest putting the warm water in the empty glue containers and swishing it around to try to get all the glue out, it's an option that some kids enjoy doing. 

Step 2:

Borax in Water dissolving

Next, in your cup add the 2 teaspoons Borax with the remainder (1/2 cup) warm water.  Kids love to measure out everything, have them measure out the Borax and add it to their cup, and then to run the warm water again and measure out 1/2 cup. Mix together until dissolved. This is a great opportunity to cultivate their schema; to ask them if they understand what 1/2 and 3/4 cup are and how much it would equal if they added them together.

Step 3:

Borax congeals to the glue

Mix the two concoctions together in a bowl. This is the messy part! Have them get their hands dirty (if they haven't already) and really mix them together. Some suggest to ease into the mixing by first mixing gently with a wooden spoon. Then, once the mixture becomes more formed to have them finish mixing and enjoying the Goo by hand. Either way - it gets mixed.

Step 4:

Finished Product

Once they're done playing with the goo, place in the Ziplock bag. We used the quarter sized freezer bags. Make sure their names are written in permanent marker. Also, when closing the bag try to get as much air out of the bag as possible before completely sealed. This will help preserve the substance and it'll be ready to go for the next time. I have also heard that it really hard to get out of carpet, so I would suggest children play with their Glittery Goo where it is most convenient for easy clean-ups.

Afterthoughts~

Pic when we were mixing water with the glue

I think we'll play around another time with different amounts of Borax. We used 2 Tablespoons instead of 2 teaspoons and our consistency was much thicker. I think that the Glitter Glue was a different texture then Elmer's regular glue. The original mixture calls for 2 8 oz. bottles of glue, we used 2 6 oz. bottles of glitter glue. The glitter glue was thicker too, therefore the mixture was thicker. As well - just a heads up - if you use the glitter glue the glitter in the glue will get on hands and such. A little glitter never hurt anyone and it washes off easily enough. Overall, my eldest niece Arden wasn't too into it (she's 10). When I asked her to rate it a 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest = awesome) she rated the project a 3. But, my youngest niece (who loves these sort of things) was totally into it and loved it. She rated it a 4 out of 5, she also said she's excited about trying different mixtures. We'll definitely try it again.

Adding the two mixtures together

Kids really love this project and it will last awhile. Even if it becomes harder it is still a consistency that kids love to play with, stretch and bounce around with. If you put them in sturdy containers, kids love to push the goo down to make different noises (consistent with passing gas - to put it nicely). This is a great activity and most people have the ingredients in their homes. IF you don't have Borax it's really cheap and has multiple purposes, so it can totally be justified for purchasing. I have used it before when I ran out of laundry detergent. It can also be used (dry) to sprinkle in carpets (leave for a half hour before vacuuming) to kill fleas. It's been around for decades and is a valuable tool to include in your cleaning arsenal.

ENJOY!!

Links

Homemade Gak Six Sisters Stuff
Pinterest has a plethora of great ideas for summer activities, that's how I found this wonderful site: I Dig Pinterest: 20 Fun Summer Activities for Kids
Wiki How