{No Technology Thursday: Flubber}

Every Monday and Thursday we have No Technology days in our house. While the kids are awake, that goes for Mama and Dada, too. They do understand that for work we sometimes will need to use our phones and computers. Caden is always quick to remind us to put away the phone if he sees one of us grab it :)

Today's activity definitely needed to be inside because it is still bitterly cold. Not as bad as earlier this week, but still too cold to play outside. After scouring Pinterest, I decided today would be a great day to make Flubber. As an added bonus, because it is science-y (is that a word?), I knew Ryan would love it as well. Instead of making a large batch of it, I decided that the kids would have more fun making individual portions of it in glasses. The recipe I used is from Linda Loo's Teacher and Parent Resource Center. Here is the recipe if you don't feel like going to the link:

Things you will need:

Cup for each child                                     Elmer's Glue           

Newspaper                        Borax Laundry Booster

 Water                                            Spoons/bowls

Prepare ahead of time: 

1. Cover table surfaces with newspaper
2. Prepare ¼ cup of glue in an 8-oz. cup, and add a spoon for each child.  
3. In separate smaller cups, set aside ¼ cup of water.  You may add food coloring if desired.
4. In an additional smaller cup, pour ½ cup of water, mixed with 1 tsp. of Borax laundry booster.

Directions

1. Place 8-oz. cup with the glue on a covered table for each child.  Give each child a spoon.  Also place a small bowl on the table. (You only need one. This will be used to pour off the excess water.)

2. Then give each child the cup with ¼ cup of water, and ask him/her to pour the water into the glue cup.  Mix with spoon.

3. Next have the children add the second smaller cup with the Borax solution.  Mix slowly with spoon.

4. Keep stirring gently until most of the water is absorbed.  Pour excess water into bowls.

5. You now have Flubber!

The kids thought this was pretty amazing. Caden was excited that we were going to be "doing science." Here are some pics from our Flubber Fun :)

I decided to use glasses for everything. I used the tall one to hold the Elmer's Glue. I also recommend only putting one drop of food color into your water. It was plenty, and it wasn't so much that it stained the kids' hands.

 

 As much as the kids wanted to do everything on their own, they did a great job letting Dada help with the pouring.

 

Did you notice that both kids are wearing capes? :)

Make sure you stir it enough. At first I was afraid we did something wrong, because it appeared to be so lumpy. Once we stirred it some more, and then we took the glasses to the sink to dump the extra water off, it smoothed out.

 

They weren't too sure at first about touching it, but once they did...they LOVED it!

 

We then decided to get out some cookie cutters and plastic knives to cut it.

I would recommend this fun activity to people with young kiddos. As long as the kids understand they can't eat the Flubber, all is good. I think they had the most fun using the cookie cutters on it. The best part is there was really no clean up other than the glasses. When we were done, each kid put theirs in a bag. It should save for up to a couple of months at least.

Until later!

Barby