Glow in the Dark Flubber

My class has been exploring lights this week. Naturally this means means our light table had to have something interesting and engaging. We decided to make Glow-In-The-Dark Flubber. 

The children pulled out the light table toys to stick on the flubber. I loved this little butterfly.

When you press translucent materials onto the flubber, the light shines through from below. 

Here is the recipe:

      Get yourself 3 cups of glue, 6 cups of hot water (I like to microwave it for a minute...it does not have to be boiling), 2 tbs of borax, glow-in-the-dark paint, 2 bowls, and (optional) a mixing spoon. 

     In the first bowl, mix 3 cups of glue, 4 cups of hot water, and 2-3 oz of glow in the dark paint. Stir it up.

     In the second bowl, mix the 2 cups of water with the 2 tbs of borax. Stir it really well until all the borax is dissolved! Then SLOWLY pour it into the glue water mixture, mixing it with a spoon or your hands. Pour a little, knead it a little. When it starts forming a ball, and pulling away from the sides of the bowl, it is ready to be played with. 

Store it in an airtight container. It can be used for weeks if you take care of it.

**Note**The children can help with all of this, but depending on how hot your water is, make sure to have an adult supervising and helping. This recipe contains borax, which cannot be ingested. Be sure to make this recipe with children who are past the mouthing stage (ages 3 and up)!

Invite the children to touch and describe the water-glue mixture before adding the borax mixture. Then ask them how it feels after. They can all help mix with their hands for that sensory experience.This stuff is so much fun to play with! 

We put it on the light table, and then turned out the lights...

Happy playing!

Flubber in a Strainer

 
I've posted about how wonderful flubber is before. 

Flubber is a staple in our classroom. 

Lately, we've been experimenting with it. 

I've read about putting flubber in a strainer in the Ooey Gooey books, and saw it in action here at Casa Marias Creative Learning Zone. 

All I really needed was a strainer to get the ball rolling, and I found a really nifty one with handles!

I used a sturdy string tied on each side of it to hang it. I'm not tall enough to reach the ceiling, even standing on a chair, so I hung it on our cubby hooks.

It takes a while before anything interesting happens, but after about twenty minutes or so, they started noticing the flubber in a strainer.

It was REALLY hard for them not to touch it, but I wanted them to see the full effect of dripping flubber before playing with it.

...And then they could touch it! :)

Chris experiments with touching the flubber with his nose...and makes a discovery.
"I can see through it!"

It has an interesting effect. The flubber takes on the properties of a liquid in SLOOOOW motion. I love the little rain drops.

They had fun pulling on the flubber and knocking down the little rain drops. Be warned...if you decide to try this...lay down a some newspapers or a tarp, because they will be sure to knock the little pieces EVERYWHERE! If you don't, well, it was easy enough to sweep up.

The next day, using the assistance of my 6 foot tall co-teacher, Mr. Matt, the flubber was hung from the ceiling (during nap time.) We added a funnel, too.

The display began attracting attention during snack time.

After they finished eating, they couldn't resist the flubber table. As the flubber dripped and broke, they loved to catch it and use it for play.

The glass stones add a special element to play.

 Here was the view looking up.

 

 

How magical!

 

Happy playing!

Flubber

Flubber is great! It has the "moldability" of play dough, but it is also stretchy, bouncy and cold. It is easy to make, lasts several weeks, and the children absolutely love it.

Here is the adapted Ooey Gooey recipe:

                         1. Mix 2 cups water and 1 ½ cups Elmers glue in a big bowl.
                         2. Add a squirt of liquid water color and then stir it up.

                         3. In a separate small bowl mix together: 2 cups water and 3 TBS Borax. (*Tip: the original recipe calls for 4 TBS...I've found that to be too much. The flubber comes out more stiff with too much borax. 3 TBS is better!)

                         4. After it’s completely dissolved, pour the Borax mixture SLOWLY and A LITTLE AT A TIME into the glue and water mixture. (NOTE: You will NOT need to use all this Borax Solution--I have found that you use about half...which means there is just enough left for a second batch)

                         Pour a little, mix it a little, pour a little, mix a little. Mix with your hands or a sturdy wooden spoon (*Tip: If you mix with your hands, it will at first feel like sticking your hands into a big bowl of mucus. Gross, I know...but I've found that mixing with your hands is better than using a spoon.) As you mix, it will become a flubber ball!


                        5. Store it in an airtight container or ziploc for a few weeks. Play with it, stretch it, roll it, bounce it...

There is no end to the fun. When the kids get tired of plain flubber, try adding items such as straws, scissors, or stones to make it more interesting...

Blow flubber bubbles with straws.

Explore flubber with scissors

Add bowls. 

Ellie showing me how the flubber sticks to the bowl.

Add river stones

Vinegar takes it out of clothes, carpet and fabric. Mayo will take it out of hair!

Happy  playing!