Up until now, I was terrified of making slime for my kids. The thought of the mess and the very real possibility my four-year-old (with autism and SPD) eating the slime scared me to death.
But then when I picked my son up from preschool, his teacher was so excited to tell me how proud she was of him for helping make sensory slime and not eating it!
I love using sensory bins the most to meet my son’s sensory needs, but now it’s time to take the slime plunge!
If you’ve never made slime before, I will say you are missing out!
It’s extremely easy to make and amazingly provides you and your child with a calming sensation when played with.
Since this is my first time making any kind of slime recipe, I am excited to pass it along to you because I’ve now fallen in love with making slime!
Here is an easy 3 ingredient slime to give your child a new sensory play experience today!
Disclosure: Bear in mind that some of the links in this post are affiliate links and if you click on them to make a purchase I will earn a commission. Keep in mind that I link these companies and their products because of their quality and not because of the commission I receive from your purchases. The decision is yours, and whether or not you decide to buy something is completely up to you.
What’s so important about sensory play activities?
Sensory play activities for kids are any activities that activate one or more of your child’s senses (touch, smell, hearing, seeing, taste).
Most people are aware humans are equipped with five senses.
But, technically there are seven senses! Balance and body awareness are also senses.
Sensory experiences provide children with an opportunity to explore all their senses in a safe and controlled environment. Research shows sensory play positively changes children’s brains.
When engaged in sensory play the brain builds nerve connections to increase development.
Further research also indicates that children who do not engage in enough sensory play activities may suffer future learning issues.
However, more research needs to be conducted on how a lack of sensory play can lead to learning problems!
What are the benefits of sensory play?
The benefits of sensory play are vast! Here are some great benefits to sensory play activities:
-Allows children to explore all of their senses in a safe environment
-Helps with the brain development of nerve connections
-Encourages problem-solving skills
-Assists/helps children with sensory aversions
-Increases language development
-Promotes creativity and exploration
On top of all these benefits, I’ve found with my own child that sensory play activities are highly engaging!
This is a major plus for children with special needs like autism because focus and attention are lacking at times.
Thankfully, sensory play does keep my son’s attention very well!
Why 3 ingredient slime?
There are many different sensory play activities to try. Sensory bins, sensory bottles.
Even the bathtub filled with ball pit balls is a sensory experience! But what’s so special about slime?
How does slime benefit a child’s development?
The 3 ingredient slime I made (and of course played with) is fascinating!
Not only does it help stimulate a child’s vision and touch, but when stretched and squeezed together the slime will make tiny “popping” sounds to stimulate hearing as well!
This is the result of tiny air bubbles being trapped inside the slime when moved around.
Slime is especially beneficial for children with sensory issues dealing with touch.
For instance, for children who struggle with touching wet, sticky, dirty, or squishy things, sensory slime is perfect for these sensory issues.
My own son falls into this sensory sensitivity as well. He struggles with touching anything sticky like cooked spaghetti noodles.
I have been adding more and more sticky and wet sensory play activities into his daily routine.
I am proud to say that this sensitivity has decreased and he will now play in the dirt outside and at least touch (not play) with spaghetti!
Related Articles: 14 Sensory Toys For Children With Autism
16 Sensory Room Products For Children With SPD And Autism
52 Heavy Work Activities For Sensory Seekers
Sensory Bin Fillers From Everyday Objects
Here are some other observations I made about the 3 ingredient slime:
It has a calming effect
Giving your child slime to play with when he or she is upset (or having a meltdown) may be just the calming sensory experience your child needs to self-regulate his/her emotions.
Slime could be used as a substitute for a stress-relief ball for parents as well!
Slime is not as messy as I thought it would be
Yes, I was scared to make and play with slime before this due to the messiness factor.
If this is you too, don’t be afraid. Once all the ingredients are mixed together it hardly stays on the hands or table!
Of course, adding an extra ingredient of water will make the slime more sticky and therefore messy. You have been warned!
You need to play on a clean surface
Slime is a sensory activity requiring not only supervision but a very clean table as well.
While I did lightly wipe down the table before letting my son play with the slime, I still ended up with a few dog hairs in it.
Lesson learned… Wipe the table down better or all the crumbs and small hairs will stick to the slime (which gets a little gross after a while).
3 Ingredient Slime Recipe
This 3 ingredient slime recipe is a basic recipe without Borox. Instead, it uses contact solution!
I found this incredibly easy slime recipe on The Best Ideas for Kids. T
his recipe is super simple and from this basic slime “base” extras can be added to make themed slime recipes or just make the slime more entertaining for kids.
3 Ingredient Slime
- 3/4 cup Elmer’s Glue
- 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 Tablespoon of contact lens solution
I used what I had on hand in the house! I happened to have Elmer’s Glow-in-the-Dark Glue and a generic brand of contact solution.
Both worked perfectly for the recipe. But I then added a touch of silver star sparkles to the slime to make it look more ‘galaxy’ like!
I have to say it is quite mesmerizing and the results were amazing!
Slime can be stored for up to a week. But make sure you store it in a Ziploc bag with any excess air taken out.
Final Thoughts
I regret not making slime sooner! While I dove headfirst into sensory bins and sensory bottles, I actually found that the slime was easier to make than sensory bottles and requires less thought on the part of making.
Sensory bottles a tremendous amount of experimentation and even with following the sensory bottle “recipes” to a T, I still end up messing them up sometimes.
Now, that I’ve made this for my son, I will probably find myself playing with slime from time to time when I’m feeling a little stressed instead!
If you’re afraid of introducing slime to your child for sensory play activities… Don’t be! Try this easy 3 ingredient slime and get creative with it!
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