Its fall which means pumpkin harvest time! Those little pumpkins that my kids have watched grow and grow and eventually turn from light green to dark green to beautiful golden orange are ready to pick! This is a favorite day for my two kids as they have been told all summer “no they aren’t ready yet, just look at them”.
One of our favorite things to do with pumpkins (besides eat them) is to make “pumpkin guts slime” with the seeds and guts. My kids absolutely LOVE slime, playing with it, stretching, cutting, scooping, smearing… the guts and seeds add another dimension of sensory fun.
Any mom out there cringes at the thought of slime… we know that slime can be the absolute WORST thing if it gets in hair, on the rug, on the dog, stuck in shoes or socks or if it gets just about anywhere. I love it because my kids LOVE and need that sensory play. Some tricks I have found to keep slime contained:
- play outside when weather permits
- play with slime in a tray (it stays in the tray or no play!)
- spray hands and surfaces with cooking spray… this helps it to not stick to them…
Pumpkin guts slime is a fun twist to extend our garden into sensory play. To make pumpkin slime you will need:
- Guts of one pumpkin and seeds
- Clear or Glitter Glue (about 2 cups)
- 1 cup liquid starch
- Baking soda
Its pretty easy, just put all the ingredients above in a bowl, mix-mix-mix for about 5 minutes, test, if too sticky sprinkle with baking soda or add a bit more of liquid starch and mix again. Eventually everything will gel together and its SLIME time. Because this slime has “food” in it I would suggest storing it in the fridge and tossing it after about two weeks. My kids love using play dough scissors to cut the slime, practicing knife skills with butter knives and just stretching, handling and playing with the gooey greatness.