Saltwater Taffy Slime

We've seen all kinds of recipes lately for "fluffy" slime. Mixing up mysterious compounds and potions is always really high up on our kids' fun lists. And, as I mention in Banish Boredom, I love how much we get out of sensory play -- from the making to the playing to the cleaning (everybody and everything else) up, sensory activities are always a good solid chunk of play time. Plus, I really love any activity that incorporates both science and art. Anyway ... we decided to try out a fluffy slime recipe ourselves (thanks to Little Bins for Little Hands!).

After watching the kids mix, shape, and play for the better part of a morning (including taking a break to shower up!), I decided that we'd have to call this Saltwater Taffy Slime! Watching saltwater taffy being made along the New Jersey boardwalk is one of our fave summer vacation activities and this reminded me so much of the sweet treat. And since the recipe we followed uses saline solution, the saltwater idea really stuck.

It was an incredibly messy activity, but the kids loved every single part of it. The slime we made ended up being really, really sticky for much of the mixing process. But the kids actually been bickering a lot that morning, so I got a huge kick out of them two of them being literally stuck together while they worked to make the slime. It was perfect!

They let the slime sit for a bit while they cleaned up and it got less fluffy, but also less sticky. It turned much more like flubber than slime, but they loved that too. They popped air bubbles, rolled it out, and even bounced it.

If you're in need of a good mid-summer activity, give this one a try!