For Those Who Aren't Scared of a Mess!

Another project I did with my summer class

Silly Putty
Yes, I actually had a classroom full of 5 and 6 year olds make silly putty. And they loved it. Unfortunately I have zero pictures from that day. :( But I'll tell you how we did it!

Each child got a styrofoam cup and a popsicle craft stick. I put about a 3 tablespoons amount of white glue in each cup. (do not use Elmer's!)

Next I went around and put about a teaspoon of liquid cornstarch in each of their cups.

After that we talk briefly about how to make colors for our silly putty. I had blue, red, and yellow food coloring. They loved it and figured out how to make purple, orange, pink, and green in their cups! Once they had their dye, they got to mix it all together with the craft stick!

As they were mixing, I tested the consistancy of their putty: too slimy/oily= more glue, too sticky= more liquid cornstarch. Only add LITTLE amounts as you adjust- it changes quickly!

Once it was all mixed up, we took the putty out of the cups and they rolled in their hands a couple minutes then could play! (I found rolling it into a ball in your hands helps the consistancy. I don't know why- oils in our hands, our hands soak up the excess liquid cornstarch, ????)

Just make sure with that age they don't throw it! It gets stuck in hair quite easily!!!

Color Swirl Crayons

Ok, this past summer I worked as the afternoon teacher for a bunch of precious 5 and 6 year olds. As a parting gift when I went back to school was to make them color swirl crayons. I bought some super cheap off brand crayons at Wal-Mart and went to work! I think they turned out pretty neat even if they weren't perfect. (Plus, its a great way to salvage old and almost gone crayons!)

Step one:
Remove all paper and cut crayons into sections. I first tried little bitty pieces, but ended up liking how they turned out better when I only cut them into 4ths or 5ths (but didn't take a pictures).


Step two:
Layer colors. This is where you get to be creative. The more of a color you can put in one place, the better! (the colors mix together easily when they're melted)


Step three:
Place muffin pan in a heated oven (350 degrees) for about 5 minutes. just long enough to melt them together- they'll melt a little more even after they're out of the oven. BE VERY CAREFUL when you take the pan out- the colors mix VERY easily!


Step four:
Allow pan to cool completely then turn upside down and tap on the bottom of each muffin section. The crayons pop right out!


Step five:
Enjoy and color away!