slime

Fall happens to be my favourite season. The colours, the crisp cool air, and the feeling of change and new beginnings are what I love most. This fall leaves slime enables me to bring a bit of that feeling inside.For this slime, I used maple leaf confetti that was leftover from the Fall Leaves Sensory Jar I made. By making both, I was able to get maximum use out of purchasing the confetti.

Slime is great for sensory input. It provides visual and tactile input and with the kneading and stretching, it also gives good proprioceptive feedback. These are an important part of your child’s day and slime provides a fun way to get them in.

Fall Leaves Slime

Supplies:

• 6 oz. bottle clear Elmer’s Glue
• approximately ¼ cup warm water
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• 1½ Tbsp. contact lens solution (be sure that it contains boric acid)
• maple leaf foil confetti
• optional: 1 ½ tablespoon glitter in copper, gold, and red

Directions:

1. Empty the glue into a large bowl.
2. Fill the empty glue bottle about ⅓ full with warm water (this will be about ¼ cup) and seal with the lid. Shake well to combine the remaining glue and water. Pour this mixture into the bowl with glue and stir to combine.
3. Add the baking soda to the glue and mix thoroughly.
4. If you are adding glitter, stir the glitter into the glue mixture in this step.
5. Add the contact lens solution to the glue mixture and stir well. Add the contact lens solution slowly, mixing between additions. Only add enough to bring the glue together into a soft ball.
6. Remove the slime from the bowl allowing any excess liquid to remain in the bowl. The slime will be sticky. Begin to play with the slime, kneading it as you would bread dough to bring the slime together. The slime is ready when it is no longer sticky.
7. Set the maple leaf foil confetti on top of the slime and knead it in, stretching and pulling until everything is well combined.
8. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator when the slime isn’t being played with.

For a different look, you could also make this slime with glitter glue in place of the regular glue. This will create an entirely new look.

You may also be interested in these fall slimes and sensory activities:

Fall Leaves Sensory Jar

Simple Hallowe’en Glitter Slime

Pumpkin Scented Puffy Paint

Easy Fall Sensory Bottle

This super fun dinosaur slime makes a perfect party favour. It’s going to be a favourite among kids. The neon green, the stretchy slime, and the dinosaurs all go together to create great sensory play.

Dinosaur Slime Recipe:

Supplies:

• ½ cup clear Elmer’s School Glue
• ½ cup of water
• ½ cup of liquid starch 
• neon green food colouring paste
• plastic dinosaur figures

Elmer’s Clear School GlueSmall Dinosaur ToysPurex Sta-Flo Liquid Starch

Directions:

1. Pour the water and clear Elmer’s glue into a mixing bowl. Combine well.
2. Next, add in the food colouring and stir. 
3. Mix the water, glue and additives together well.
4. Pour in your liquid starch and stir well for at least 30 seconds.
5. Your slime mixture should start pulling away at the sides of your bowl when mixing. This is when you can start kneading it in your hands to see if it’s a texture you like. It should become a pliable slime ball.
6. It’s now ready to pull out of your bowl and place on a clean, flat surface.
7. Your slime is ready to play with. Add in your dinosaur figures.
8. Enjoy playing with your slime! 

Notes:

The kids can help mix the glue, water and add ins. However, I recommend that an adult or older child handle the liquid starch stage of the recipe.

This makes a sticky slime, but it stretches well. If you want it to be less sticky, you can add in more of the liquid starch. The more starch you add, the less sticky it becomes. It will also become more rigid though, and more likely to break than to stretch. Always supervise young children when playing with slime or with any sensory play activity. Do not allow kids to eat slime. Although it is a fun science experiment, it should be handled with care and with adult supervision.

Dinosaur Themed Slime Party Favours:

This slime makes an adorable party favour. If you’re having a Dinosaur Birthday Party, you can either make these up ahead to include in the treat bags or you can make them with the kids at the party. Each child can take the one they make home with them.

Read about how to make slime with a large group by setting up slime stations here.

Use small jars with lids such as baby food jars. Fill the jars with a plastic dinosaur toy and slime. As an extra special touch, you can attach a plastic dinosaur to the lid with hot glue. Allow the glue to dry before screwing on the lid. If you’d like, you can also personalize the favours by writing each child’s name on the jar in permanent marker or by decorating the jar with dinosaur stickers that the child chooses.  Join me for a free 5 part email series, Sensory Solutions and Activities (just put your email into the box below) and get a printable list of 175 great Sensory Ideas.

Check out some of our other fun slime recipes:

Lion King Inspired Slime Minnie Mouse Slime Unicorn Fluffy Slime 

You’re going to love this shark themed edible fluffy slime. It’s fun to play with and taste safe, so it’s good for toddlers or preschoolers. It smells great too (like white chocolate)! This fluffy slime recipe goes well with a unit study on the ocean or is the perfect pairing for Shark Week. You could also use it for an Ocean or Shark themed party.

Edible Shark Fluffy Slime Recipe:

Slime ingredients:

• 1/3 cup white chocolate instant pudding mix 
  
• 1 cup of cornstarch
• blue food colouring
• gummy sharks candy 
  
• 1/3 cup water

How to make edible fluffy slime:

1. Empty the dry pudding mix pouch into a bowl. Add the cornstarch. Mix well.
   
2. Pour in the water and begin to stir quickly. There will be some clumps, but you can break them apart with your spoon. 
   
3. Keep stirring and breaking the clumps. A crumbly dough will form. Add a few drops of blue food colouring so that you get just the shade you’re looking for.
4. As soon as the crumbly dough forms, press it and knead it until the slime forms.
5. If your mixture feels too dry and crumbly, continue to add a teaspoon of water at a time until you get the right consistency. If  it feels too wet, sprinkle in equal parts of pudding mix and corn starch until it thickens up and becomes the desired consistency.
6. The more you stir or knead it, the better the consistency gets.
7. Finish this slime off with gummy sharks. You can mix them in or use them to top the slime. Of course, there may be a few of the candies that find their way into little mouths!

One of the nice things about edible slimes is that they are borax free. This makes them safe for all ages (though of course adult supervision should be used with this and all sensory play activities).

Taste Safe Slime Sensory benefits:

Slime is always a great sensory activity, but a taste safe slime allows even more sensory systems to be involved.

Visual – The soft blue of this slime is visually appealing.

Tactile – Little hands can touch this sensory play recipe. If you choose to add the shark gummy candies into it, it will add another texture element which is good for tactile input.

Gustatory (taste) – Since this is a taste safe slime recipe, it provides a great gustatory opportunities for licking and even biting and chewing. I wouldn’t recommend eating the whole thing though as it’s quite cornstarch-y. Olfactory (smell) – Sniffing fully allowed. This slime smells like white chocolate. Yum!

Proprioception – Involving the kids in the process of making the slime allows even more proprioceptive input as they knead, smash, and press. Pulling, scrunching, and stretching while playing with the slime also involves the proprioceptive system.

Looking for more awesome sensory play recipes for kids? You can grab a free sample chapter of our Sensory Play Recipes eBook here.

Check out some of our other slime recipes:

Unicorn Fluffy Slime

Minnie Mouse Inspired Slime

Mardi Gras Slime

This bug slime without borax would go well with an insect theme unit. It also is a nice one for Spring or Summer. It’s a way for kids to play with bugs without them being real bugs! My kids love slime that is super stretchy. That is one of the things we really like about this particular recipe. It has a good amount of stretch to it.

Incorporating the insects into the slime allows for this to be used in your school or homeschool in a science unit. The clear slime allows kids to examine each of the insects and make observations about their characteristics.

Bug Slime without Borax Recipe:

• 5 oz. Elmers clear school glue
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 Tbsp. contact solution (be sure to use contact solution that includes both boric acid and sodium borate in the ingredient list or it won’t work)
• a variety of plastic bugs

Instructions:

1. In a bowl, pour 5 oz clear glue.
2. Add 1/2 cup water.  Mix until the glue has broken up and is incorporated into the water.
3. Mix 1/2 cup baking soda in.  Baking soda will help determine your slime thickness.
4. Add 1 Tbsp. of contact solution. Mix immediately. The slime will be ready to knead when it begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. 
5. Knead the slime. It will be sticky at first, but keep kneading it. This should make it less sticky. If you find that it is still too sticky, you can add a little bit more contact solution, a little at a time.
6. Once your slime has formed, you can add your bugs and knead them inside.  
7. Store in an airtight container.

Slime makes an excellent sensory play material. It incorporates the visual, tactile, and proprioceptive sensory systems. Kids can pull, knead, stretch, and squish the slime.

Check out some of our other slime recipes:

Mardi Gras Slime Peppermint Scented Slime 

Timon is a meerkat from the Lion King movie. Timon is known for his love of bugs and most especially, grubs. This Timon inspired Lion King Slime will quickly be a favourite for kids who are a fan of the movie. This beloved character is pretty cute, even if he does eat bugs!

Timon Inspired Lion King Slime Recipe:

• 5 oz. clear glue*
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 Tbsp. contact solution (use a buffered contact lens saline solution)
• plastic bugs
• Timon mini figurine or cake pick

*A note about the glue: I find that when making slime, Elmers school glue works best. I’ve tried other glues and the results haven’t been as predictable as they are when I use Elmers for my slime. Instructions:

1. In a bowl, pour 5 oz. of clear glue.
2. Add 1/2 cup of water. Mix until the glue has broken up and is incorporated well in the water.
3. Mix 1/2 cup baking soda in. Baking soda will help determine your slime’s thickness.
4. Add 1 Tbsp. of contact solution. Mix. The slime will be ready to knead when the slime pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Contact solution is what makes the stickiness of the slime.
5. Knead the slime. It will be too sticky at first. Just keep kneading it! If you have to, you can add a drop or two more of the contact solution, but be careful not to over-activate.
6. Once your slime has formed, you can add your bugs and knead them inside.  
7. Place the Timon figure in or on the slime.
8. Store the slime in an airtight container when not playing with it.

Slime is a great sensory play material. It allows for visual, tactile, and proprioceptive feedback. It can be an effective calming tool when used for proprioception. Ideas for doing this include:

• stretching
• pulling
• kneading
• pressing, pushing
• squishing

Check out these other fun slime recipes:

Minnie Mouse Slime

Unicorn Fluffy Slime 

Rainbow Confetti Party Slime 

I should probably admit that I’ve never actually been to New Orleans, so Mardi Gras isn’t something I’ve personally experienced, but that’s no reason I can’t bring the party to my house. This Mardi Gras Slime brings the party to sensory play.

Mardi Gras Slime Recipe:

• 5 oz. bottle of Elmer’s clear school glue
• ½ cup water
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 Tbsp. contact solution
• grey acrylic paint
• purple, green, and gold confetti
• optional: Mardi Gras beads for playing

Instructions:

1. Pour the whole 5 oz. bottle of clear glue into a small mixing bowl.
2. Add in ½ cup of warm water and stir.
3. Mix in the baking soda.
4. Drop in a few drops of grey acrylic paint. Stir. If desired colour isn’t achieved, you can add in another drop or two.
5. Add 1 Tbsp. contact solution to the mixture. It will begin to form instantly. At this point, it will be quite sticky. Don’t worry! Continue to mix the contact solution in the bowl until it starts to pull away from the sides and form.
6. Knead the slime until it is no longer sticky.
7. Add the confetti and mix in.
8. Store the Mardi Gras slime in an airtight container.

You can set this slime out with Mardi Gras beads. This will provide another element for sensory input in the play. The stretchy slime will contrast against the hard beads, offering a great tactile experience.

Kids will enjoy playing with this and watching the confetti mix in. The contrast of colours is really quite striking!

Slime can be part of a sensory diet. It offers visual, tactile, and proprioceptive sensory input. 

Find other sensory play recipes including slimes by grabbing a free sample of our Sensory Play Recipes eBook. Simple enter your email below and you’ll be set!

Check out some of our other slime recipes:

Rainbow Confetti Party Slime Minnie Mouse Slime