Creepy Crawly Slime Recipe for Kids

We first created this creepy crawly slime recipe for kids during summer camp, but it’s been made and used at home and in my classroom during the regular school year. So this mud, worm, and bugs slime recipe for kids is definitely kid approved! It may look a little . . . um, interesting . . . but it’s full of playful sensory learning!

Worm Theme Lesson Plans >>> Preschool Classroom | Home Preschool

Dirt and mud slime recipe for kids

Ingredients
8 oz. Clear glue
8 oz. warm Water
6 to 7 oz. Sta-Flo liquid starch
1 TB Brown liquid watercolor
1/4 cup Old coffee grounds

Creepy Crawlies to Use with the Slime
Fake bait worms
Large plastic insects
Insects TOOB

Directions
1. Pour the clear glue into a bowl. Fill up the glue bottle with warm water, shake, and add that to the bowl. Make sure you use approximately equal parts glue and water.

2. Add the liquid watercolor and mix well. I used a tablespoon of it, but you can adjust that amount as you’d like.

3. Add the coffee grounds. I broke open an old Keurig container, which equaled about a quarter of a cup. Again, you can adjust the amount as you’d like.

4. You need to take the next part very slowly! Add the liquid starch a tablespoon or so at a time and mix well. After slowly adding and mixing in about half of the starch, knead the slimy concoction (just like you’d knead dough). Then add a tablespoon of starch at a time after that, kneading after each addition. Once the slime has reached the consistency you like, stop and get playing!

How the Kids Played
During summer camp, the students used plastic “worms” in the slime. We were inspired by Twodaloo’s dirt and worms frozen excavation activity, as well as my Star Wars Lego Slime. The worms were buried in “muddy slime”, left to sink into the slime, and stretched along with the slime. Some of the kiddos enjoyed pressing the worms into the slime, then removing the worms and looking for “worm prints, Miss Mary Catherine! Kind of like fingerprints, but worms don’t have fingers.”

This year’s preschoolers used different creepy crawlers in the dirt and mud slime, but they had just as much fun with it! They pulled and stretched the slime, making some of the bugs zoom through the middle. The slime was left to splay out on the table, with the bugs jumping and flying into it. It’s been requested multiple times already, so I see more dirty, muddy, creepy crawly slime in my future!

Oh, and in case you’re wondering — only one kiddo mentioned that the slime looked like something in a cat box!

Learning
The children had so many chances to practice language and conversational skills. There was also so much science learning with this activity – observing how the ingredients worked together to create something new was an interesting concept to explore! The children thoroughly used their sense of touch, sight, and smell while playing with this slime, too.

Do you have a slime recipe for kids that you’d like to share? As always, I’m always on the lookout for new ideas to try!

Originally published October 29, 2014

Worm Lesson Plans

Save time and get right to the playful learning with our printable lesson plan sets. Each set includes over 30 playful learning activities related to a worms theme, and we’ve provided different versions for preschool classrooms and home preschool, so all activities are geared directly toward your needs.

Worm Theme Lesson Plans >>> Preschool Classroom | Home Preschool

Check out more creepy crawly activities

Beginning Sounds: Hunting for Creepy Crawlies by Mom Inspired Life
Preschool Songs: I’m a Hungry Spider by Growing Book by Book
The Creepy Crawlies Kingdom by Learning 2 Walk
Spider Life Cycle and Sequencing Cards by The Preschool Toolbox
Number Word Spider by Tiny Tots Adventures
Spider Web Construction – An Engineering Activity by Rainy Day Mum
Insects and Spiders-Counting and Math Song by Capri + 3
Creepy Crawly Gifts Kids Can Make by The Educators’ Spin On It