Boys - 5/6 - The Idea Room

Silly Putty

Sorry it took so long to repost…but I have been super BUSY today finishing several projects (and reading all your comments) that were only half finished! I am so excited to share them with you in the coming days.

I also have some awesome GIVEAWAYS. You won’t want to miss it…I PROMISE!

We recently made some silly putty for each kid for one of our summer activities. It was a big hit! It was so simple…anyone can make this and have it turn out! I promise!

Here is the recipe:

1. Take a small mixing bowl and add 2 Tablespoons of Warm Water. Then add 2 Tablespoons of White Elmer’s School Glue (other glues might not work as well) and a drop or two of food coloring. Mix together thoroughly.

2. Sprinkle in 1 and 3/4 to 2 Tablespoons of Borax into your glue mixture while stirring constantly. Your mixture will thicken up quickly. When the borax is all added, gather the mixture into a ball and knead together for a few minutes till firm. That’s it!

Make sure to keep it away from the carpet! Store in a plastic baggie when not is use.

And for those of you opposed to the use of Borax…here is a different recipe for Silly Putty that uses liquid starch instead of Borax. We have tried both and personally I like the Borax recipe best!

Ingredients:
1 cup Elmer’s glue
food coloring, your choice of color (optional: coloring can stain!)
1 cup liquid starch
Pour glue and coloring in plastic container.

Stir until color is thoroughly mixed in.

Add starch a little at a time, stirring with a spoon or kneading with your fingers as mixture thickens.

Keep stirring until mixture holds together like putty.

Test with your fingers: if too sticky, add more starch in small amounts until mass is smooth and rubbery.

★Amy

July 31, 2010 · Filed under: Activities, Boys, Crafts, Kids, Summer Tagged with

Make Bouncy Balloon Balls

13 Comments

Been SUPER Busy! May and June have FLOWN by and I have been going from one thing to the next. Luckily the next few weeks should slow down a bit. Things round here should get back to normal and I have some fun projects in the works for you. I thought you might want to see a few pictures of what we were up to the last few weeks.

Can you relate?? But the good news is…I do have a little summer activity for you to do with your kids! Make some super balls…

My boys and I found a fun and super simple way to make a bouncy balloon ball. Do you remember this ball from last summer? Well, it was fun to make but was not very bouncy like the super balls I grew up with. But…this new ball is a lot more like the super ball from the 80′s.

All you need are a package of round water balloons. We used the 9 inch size. First we took one balloon and filled it with a small amount of water, just enough to make it expand a tiny bit. Then we tied it off and cut off the excess end of the balloon.

Then take the rest of your balloons and cut off the long end that you tie off so you basically just have the round balloon. Cut off less first as you can always cut more off it you need to!

Then put the water balloon into the one of the cut balloons. Always place the open end of the balloon so that it is completely covered by the rubber balloon. Continue with balloon after balloon until you have a nice sized ball. This should give you a nice and thick balloon that is really durable! Then bounce away to your heart’s content.

My boys loved this little project and have found made up some games to play with their new bouncy balls.

**Be extra careful with the cut up balloon pieces as they are choking hazards. Be sure to keep them away from small children!

June 28, 2010 · Filed under: Activities, Boys, Crafts, Summer Tagged with

Marshmallow and Toothpick Buildings

18 Comments

**Be sure to enter the Giveaway for a fabric key chain here!

Need to keep the troops busy a bit longer before school starts? Have them design their own three dimensional buildings and designs using only mini marshmallow and toothpicks. My boys were entertained for over two hours seeing how many different designs they could come up with. I was amazed at their building skills and their creativity. Here are just a couple of the structures they came up with.