st patricks day

Pot of Gold St. Patrick’s Day Themed Oobleck

March 17, 2019 By sensoryplay Leave a Comment

This pot of gold St. Patrick’s Day themed oobleck is perfect for young children to engage in play-based learning. The gold rocks and pots of gold add a fun dimension to a classic oobleck recipe.

Yesterday, my kids had a sensory play-filled day. First, we went out and played in the forest. They threw rocks, stomped in mud puddles, and splashed in the river.

Then, we made St. Patrick’s Day themed oobleck. And finished off and cleaned up by making soap foam.

The St. Patrick’s Day themed oobleck had them squealing with joy and playing for over an hour.

This morning, my two-year-old headed outside to play with the oobleck again.

We love this St. Patrick’s Day themed oobleck because it:

prompts scientific discovery,
is perfect for St. Patrick’s Day,
has all the benefits of sensory play,
is soothing to play with,
is taste-safe for one-year-olds,
can have essential oils (like peppermint) added to it.

What you need for St. Patrick’s Day themed oobleck

4 cups of cornstarch
2 cups of water
Green food colouring
Small rocks
Terracotta pots
Black acrylic paint
Gold acrylic paint

How to Make St. Patrick’s Day themed oobleck

Paint rocks 1-2 coats of gold paint on rocks.
Let paint fully dry.
Paint terracotta pots black.
Mix water and food colouring.
Add coloured water to cornstarch.
Mix well.
Add gold rocks and pots.
Have fun!

Store oobleck in an airtight container. Add water if it has started to harden. It can be kept in a fridge and reused for months.

When we made this, I had a warm bowl of water and a towel nearby. The clean up was easy.

Other awesome St. Patrick’s themed activities

Find out how to make the best glitter slime recipe. It’s fail-proof and such fun sensory play. Plus there’s a fun add-on for St. Patrick’s Day. Click here to see more.

This digging for gold edible sensory play set up is perfect as a St. Patrick’s Day activity for kids. Baby-safe edible play is so much fun! Click here to learn more.

This shamrock slime uses a gold slime base with an addition of green glitter. Adjust the recipe to make the slime moldable and kids can make shamrock shapes. Click here.

We hope you enjoy these St. Patrick’s Day themed activities as much as we did.

The Best Glitter Slime Recipe – Perfect for St. Patrick’s Day

March 5, 2019 By sensoryplay Leave a Comment

Find out how to make the best glitter slime recipe. It’s fail-proof and such fun sensory play. Plus there’s a fun add-on for St. Patrick’s Day.

My daughter loves all things glittery and gold. So when she came home after school, I had an idea.

One of our favourite ways to unwind and avoid after-school meltdowns is through sensory play. After all three of my kids played with foaming soap, we decided to try our hand at making gold glitter slime.

My daughter was so excited to make something beautiful.

The only problem?

We encountered two slime fails before perfecting the recipe.

First, I tried making gold slime using this vibrant gold acrylic paint we have. Because white school glue is less temperamental than clear glue when making slime, I tried combining white glue and gold paint.

The result? Dripping, gross tan looking slop.

Take two, I tried clear glue with acrylic paint and it just looked weird.

Take three was… well perfect. My daughter said this is the best slime we’ve ever made. And, it’s gorgeous.

This is the best glitter slime recipe because it’s:

stunning,
fail-proof,
stretchy,
gooey, and
slimy.

(if ever you’ve made clear slime before, you know how easily it can go wrong).

To avoid a slime fail, make sure to:

Use equal parts water to clear glue.
Mix the glitter before adding the activator.
Add the activator very sparingly.

In honour of St. Patricks Day, we made a pot of gold for the slime. We purchased three terracotta pots at the dollar store and painted them with acrylic black paint.

Materials make the best glitter slime

1/2 cup clear school glue
1/2 cup water
Glitter
1/2 tsp Borax
1 cup warm water

Instructions to make the best glitter slime recipe

Mix equal parts water and clear school glue. The more slime you want to make the more you will need of both.
Combine as much glitter as you would like. Mix well.
In a separate glass or container, mix 1/2 a tsp of Borax into warm water. The hotter the water, the faster the Borax will dissolve. This makes the activator. If you don’t have Borax, follow this recipe.
Slowly add the activator to the glue-glitter mixture. We added 1 tbs at a time until we reached desired consistency. Unlike white glue slime, if you add too much activator to clear slime, it won’t be stretchy.
Remove from bowl, add to the pot of gold and enjoy!
Store in an airtight container for future use.

My daughter gave this recipe two thumbs up!

If you’re worried about slime clean up, click here.

For more great slime recipes, check these out:

Shamrock Slime: Green & Gold St. Patrick’s Day Slime

February 19, 2019 By sensoryplay Leave a Comment

This shamrock slime uses a gold slime base with an addition of green glitter. Adjust the recipe to make the slime moldable and kids can make shamrock shapes

Slime is such a fun sensory material for kids. Not only is is fun to play with, it requires math, science and fine motor skills to make. So many amazing benefits!

This shamrock slime uses a gold slime base, and then adds some green glitter for color. This slime has a bit of extra activator making it firmer and more moldable, so that kids can create a melting shamrock shape out of it.

Shamrock Slime

St. Patrick’s Day is a fun holiday for kids to celebrate. From rainbows to pots of gold and sneaky little leprechauns, children love to find ways to have fun with St. Patrick’s Day.

Sensory play is always a favorite of ours, and slime is typically a must when celebrating a holiday. This shamrock slime would be fun to do with a group of kids at a party as well.

To Make the Shamrock Slime

Watch the video below of the shamrock slime making:

We used this gold slime recipe as a base for our shamrock slime. The recipe in the post calls for clear glue, water and activator to make the clear slime.

Pre-made activator is an easy way to replace contact solution and baking soda or borax in your slime recipe, and makes slime making a bit more fool-proof for kids.

We followed the recipe closely, but then added just an extra 1/2 ounce of activator to stiffen up the slime just a bit. This allows for a more moldable slime for kids to make a shamrock out of!

From gold to green!

Once you have a nice gold slime that is still clear, add some green glitter!

Be generous here, the glitter will transform your slime from clear and gold to green and gold, and will be even more sparkly.

Additionally, the slime should be slightly thicker than traditional slime. The extra activator plus the gold foil confetti will make for a stiff slime that melts and stretches slowly.

Children can mold shamrocks out of their slime by making three balls of slime (or 4 for a lucky four leaf clover!) and adding a slime stem.

My children enjoyed making shamrocks out of slime, holding them in their hands, and letting them slowly melt between their fingers before molding them all over again.

Have so much fun making and playing with this shamrock slime, and celebrating St. Patrick’s Day through PLAY!