Have you ever made flubber? It's a fascinating and fun sensory material made by mixing 1 cup of PVA glue with cups of water in the first bowl along with a dash of food colouring or paint if you want, in a 2nd container mix 2/3 cup of warm water with 2 level tsp of borax. Then pour mixture 2 into mixture one and stir as it starts to change straight away. In less than 2 minutes you have a stretchy, gloopy, squishy ball of flubber! I made one pink and one green batch today ready to use tomorrow. According to my internet searches it washes out of clothing easily (I guess depending on what sort of colouring you used). Borax is available from the pharmacy dept of your chemist. You have to ask for it by name and they order it in. I got a large box for £4.35ish this week. It will last ages and ages! Apparently it's commercial use is as a water softener? Needs supervision as hands should be washed afterwards and it mustn't be eaten... same as pretty much everything in Nursery!

You can find the recipe here:

http://www.wolverhamptonart.org.uk/learnin..._school/flubber
(that's the one I used....)

illinoisearlylearning.org/videos/flubber.htm

http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/con...xp/pva-borax-1/

Wow that sounds lovely, LJW.

I'll be popping into my local pharmacy asap.

I'd love to use it but my school ahve an absolute stickler for health and safety in charge. Couldn't even use the microwave to playdough with the children today! Will anyone ever use their common sense again?

It is lovely ...we call ours slime and regulalrly make it with the children. It is so popular that at my friends school they made up large batches and sold it at their school fair for a £1 a pot!

We call it slime, too!

And raised £57 for the RNLI selling it to all my daughter's friends (and one 18 year old Oxford chemistry student )

Nona

Thanks for the links to the recipes LJW. Don't remember using this before......what a great activity.

Have used this before andi ts great - not only did it mesmerise the children the adults loved it too!

I might make some to sell at the Christmas Fair at our First School.

One question first. If they drop it inside school will it dry out and vacuum up fairly easily? I wouldn't like to upset the cleaners!

Well, we didn't test it on carpet but it went on the floor and you can just pick it up. It got on clothes but it washed off! I guess it does depend on the colouring you use but I also read on the internet that white vinegar turns it back to liquid form. Why not have a go on a bit of old carpet scrap and see?

The children really loved it! Actually, the children I thought would access it did, with great enthusiasm. There was lots of lovely descriptive language even from the tinies and the most reluctant. The usual "I'm not touching that!!" brigade weren't tempted but it was only the first time they've seen it. Maybe tomorrow!

I had made 2 colours which mixed well together (unintended but fun outcome) but I think it may have been better to have just made one bigger batch! Hey ho!