How to Make the Best Fluffy Slime Recipe for Kids

Best Fluffy Slime Recipe- I'm hooked

So this "How to Make the Best Fluffy Slime Recipe for Kids" post has made me wonder...why have I waited so long to make homemade slime? This stuff is amazing! 

It’s so much fun to make and a great opportunity for a hands-on, science experiment based playtime!

So many slime recipes- let's try them ALL

There are so many different slime recipes, but this one involves white school glue, shaving cream, saline solution and an optional use of borax. 

I’m finding that you can play around with these recipes a little bit as you learn more about them. I have a lot of things I would like to try and to learn in the future! So this is my first venture so I'm :-).

This is the perfect kid's craft for older kids. They need to understand that the ingredients and the product are not edible and are willing to handle it safely. Keep that in mind and note my science explanation and safety tips below.

Note- If you want to watch a full length video to make the Best Fluffy Slime Recipe on YouTube the link is found below

First mixture

I started by making a borax solution. To a medium sized Mixing bowl measure out and add a cup of warm water and 1 tablespoon of Borax. 

Borax powder is a product used when washing clothes to help make the laundry detergent work better. I keep it on hand because we live on the farm, and we have hard water. It helps get dirty clothes clean! 

Stir this mixture until it’s dissolved and set it aside. 

Note- Keep this mixture away from younger children and pets. Throw away all extra solution when you are done.

Second mixture

Glue

The second solution is the glue mixture and it's made in a large Mixing bowl. In this bowl you’re going to start with a half cup of warm water and a whole cup of glue. 

Tip: Use Elmer's white glue or other brand of white glue to make the fluffiest slime (PVA glue- white glue is better). 

Now if you’d like to, you can purchase glitter glue to add into your recipe (I bought mine at the Dollar Store). But plain white glue or Elmer's glue will work and you have the option of adding glitter in a bit. 

Note: I’m going to tell you the recipe that I used, but I do suggest cutting this recipe in half if only using it for one child to play with. It was a really large recipe!

Shaving cream

Mix the glue and the water together a bit and then add 3 to 4 cups of shaving cream. This was really fun, spraying the foam made the best hissing noise. 

I’m guessing that some people just choose to squirt a large amount of shaving cream into the bowl. But I’m a teacher, I didn't want to get too much shaving cream so I had to measure it out!

Baking soda

To this mixture go ahead and add a half teaspoon of Baking soda. Now I just want to reminder you of the difference between baking soda and baking powder. It’s baking soda that we use in this recipe.

Food coloring and glitter

I added a few drops of Food coloring to my mixture (mine was a gel but liquid food coloring works too). Part of my glue was a glitter glue, which already had a little bit of blue food coloring in it, but I went ahead and added more blue food coloring.

At this point, you could add other things to your solution as well. I would’ve added Glitter to it if I had it. I have it somewhere in my “stash” but just couldn’t find it. Sad face.

Saline solution

Mix these ingredients up together and then add 2 Tablespoons of Saline solution (which is a slime activator- activating a chemical reaction). 

I want to point out that this Saline solution needs to include boric acid and sodium borate. Be sure to read the label on the container to make sure that you purchase a brand of contact lens solution that has this these ingredients in it. I got mine at a discount house (Wal Mart in my case) and it is in the section for “eye products” as it is used for contacts.

Slime, craft, AND science experiment!

The perfect fluffy slime recipe, craft, AND a science experiment bonus- SCORE! 

This is where the magic begins to happen.

You’re going to see a chemical reaction begin take place. It is pretty cool. This is just the best way to mix science with crafts!

The glue is a PVA glue (polyvinyl acetate) with molecules that are in a liquid form. The saline solution contain boric acid and also is in a liquid form (the borax solution too). 

When we make a combination of boric acid (molecules in the saline solution and later in the Borax) and the polyvinyl acetate (in the cup of Elmer glue)- the boric acid is an activator with borate ions that triggers a chemical reaction in the polyvinyl acetate.

Whew, I'm a home ec teacher, not a science teacher, but this is fascinating.

The molecules in this new solution become long and stringy so the mixture changes and becomes something between a liquid and a solid. This is a non-Newtonian fluid. It has new properties- new ways of acting and feeling. It moves through your fingers and oozes into the shape of whatever container you put it in. It's slimy!!!

Finishing your best fluffy slime recipe

So in this step of making the easy fluffy slime recipe, you will notice that the ingredients interact and it begins to thicken and pull away from the sides of the bowl as you stir. And now you know why!

Now I think that you will sometimes find that you don’t need to add anything more to the mixture. It will just start setting up and that’s all you need to do. 

I’m sure if I was more experienced with fluffy slime ingredients, I would know there might be other things to do besides add the borax solution for best results. I do make that ingredient optional because you may not need it. Please give me feedback on options as I plan to make this again. 

But for me, I did need to go ahead and use a little of the Borax solution to get it to firm up more than it did with just the saline solution. 

So at this point in time I added one tablespoon of the Borax solution to the glue mixture in the large bowl. Then it began to set up even more. It pulled away from the bowl and you can see it’s ready to be handled.

This is a science experiment you can play with!

I couldn’t wait to get my hands into my fluffy slime! Time for some sensory play!

I put a bit of the saline solution on my hands and then picked up the slime (I've read that some people use a bit of baby oil). This is when I realized I had way more than I could handle myself. 

Tip- divide or cut the recipe in half?

If I had several kids, I would divide this recipe up and each of them could have a third of it or a fourth of it and handle it very easily. The amount in the bowl was too much for one person to handle. it was the size of a small dodge ball!

They could make theirs different colors and add in more glitter into their own homemade fluffy slime. It could be a contest to make the best slimes!!

Knead the best fluffy slime recipe

So I played around with it for a while and began to knead it. And as I kneaded the slime it firmed up more and more, so it was less sticky and easy to handle. 

Mine probably got even a little bit too stiff by the end, I would have liked stretchier slime. Perhaps I got a bit too much contact solution on my hands. But it had such a fluffy consistency and I had so much fun playing with it and pulling on it.

It’s so fluffy!

Your slime will last a number of days if you keep it in an airtight container.

This "How to Make the Best Fluffy Slime Recipe for Kids" was my first attempt at slime but I promise you it won’t be my last! I'm hopping on the slime craze.

Let's try more slime recipes!

There’s a bunch of DIY slime recipes for various slime types I’d like to try!  I plan on trying all kinds of slime forms- like regular slime with a basic recipe, clear slime, glitter slime, unicorn slime, cloud slime. I've discovered there is way more to life than just fluffy shaving cream slime! Ha!

I'd also like to make a type of slime that I think would be better for young children with more simple ingredients. Perhaps a more basic slime recipe like a liquid starch slime- one that isn't a borax slime with shaving cream.

I’d also like to try other add ins- like making clear slime and adding in some small beads for example. Maybe putting sand in it or some other substance that would give it a feeling of texture that’s different yet. I’m pretty excited about it. 

This is my first time making this I’m late to the party, but I thought it was so much fun!

Link to Full Length video

If you want to watch this craft/science experiment for fluffy slime here is the YouTube video link: Best Fluffy Slime Recipe on YouTube

Safety precautions- 

• Use this recipe with older children.
• It is important to keep young kids and pets away from borax. Be sure to throw all extra borax solution away when done. 
• Shaving foam can burn your eyes so don't touch or rub your eyes while handling. 
• It would be a good idea to wear gloves if you have sensitive skin. I had no problems, but others may. Also food coloring can put color on your skin.
• Lastly, work over a table or flat surface as I'm guessing that slime would stick in carpet.

More Hands-on Crafts and Activities!

If you’re looking for some other ways to get your hands on some fun, here are some other ideas for you:

• Amazing Homemade Playdough recipe
• Make Your Own Ice Cream in a Bag
• Planting Spring Flower Seeds
• How to Make a Paper Whirligig
• DIY Fun Folded Lucky Origami Stars

Enjoy!

If you try this craft, let me know! Go ahead and leave a comment, rate it, and tag a photo with #WelcometoNanas wherever you post.

Come join the fun at https://welcometonanas.com

Ingredient list for The Best Fluffy Slime Recipe

• PVA glue- white glue is better than clear glue for this recipe (like Elmer's School glue)
• Water
• ​Baking soda
• Shaving cream- spray foam type in a can
• Saline solution (a brand of contact lens solution that includes boric acid and sodium borate- read the ingredient list)
• Borax- found in the laundry section (optional- but I used it in this video)
• Food coloring- optional
• Glitter- optional
• Mixing bowls
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Spoon for stirring