Slime-y Math
Who doesn't love playing with slime? This gooey, stretchy, fun concoction keeps children engaged and can be a great math tool. Here is a way to make slime and incorporate some basic math measurements.
Materials
1 1/2 cups of clear glue
1 1/2 cups of liquid starch
Food coloring
Measuring cups
Mixing spoons
Ruler
Directions
Step one: Have your child measure out the ingredients. Use different measuring cups to make 1 ½ cups of the ingredients.
Step two: Separate the slime into a few small bowls
Step three: Add food coloring to each bowl and mix
Ways to Incorporate Math
1. Use this opportunity to study different instruments of measurement and practice reading measurements.
Talk about various measuring tools. Have them write out different ways to make up a cup using different fractions. Now is the time to practice reading measurements so you can be sure your amounts are accurate. Talk about how important this is, since one wrong measurement can throw off the recipe.
2. Make estimates
Use estimating when playing with your slime. You can estimate how heavy the glob is, how far you can stretch it, or how much is needed to cover a particular surface. Before taking any measurements, practice estimating and make educated guesses based on the information you already know or have.
3. Practice weighing different amounts of slime
Have your child guess how much an ounce or a pound of slime weighs. Use a kitchen scale to weigh the slime. Take turns weighing globs of slime and writing down the measurements as you do.
4. Stretch the slime and measure
Have fun stretching the slime! See who can stretch the slime the longest and measure it or guess how long an inch or a foot of slime is. Record your findings.
5. Graphing
Recording information and stats is an important part of math. In all of the activities above, track your findings on a piece of poster board. This is a wonderful chance to track your findings and compare them. You can make grid graphs or even pie charts depicting the information you have collected about your slime.
For more on how to incorporate learning with slime check out this link and this link.
Make sure you tag @themodernteacher with your slime creations!
