What a fun glitter monster slime activity for kids! They’ll love making slime and exploring ways to play with it during a monster theme or around Halloween.
We love glitter.
Open-ended sensory play is on that list of things we love, too.
Add in some science, and we’re even happier.
Needless to say, this glitter monster slime activity was a hit on many fronts.
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Before I jump in, though, a quick comment about safety. Children need to be supervised around these materials, and under no circumstances should they be put in anyone’s mouth. Be sure that everyone washes their hands after playing with the slime, too. We’ve never had any skin reactions to the recipes we’ve used, but everyone is different. It’s something to keep an eye on depending on what materials you choose to use (and if you or the children have sensitive skin or allergies).
How to Make Monster Slime
Over the years we’ve perfected our favorite slime recipe. Slime is notoriously finicky, so it took a while before we found the exact combination of ingredients for a perfect slime. I like the slime to be stretchy but not super sticky. If it’s sticking to my fingers (or the kids’ fingers) too much, that just isn’t as fun.
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Materials for glittery monster slime
Glitter glue
Liquid watercolors (food coloring would work, as well)
Water
Liquid starch
Directions for making this not-so-scary sensory experience
Empty a bottle of glitter glue into a bowl. In case you’re wondering, we have a set of glass bowls just for making slime and other science/sensory concoctions.
Add warm water to the empty glue bottle, shake it to loosen the remainder of the glue in the bottle, and pour into the bowl. Mix.
Now it’s time to add any extras. We just put a few drops of liquid watercolor in at this point, to brighten the color from the glitter glue. Mix.
Measure out the liquid starch. I’ve found it’s best to use just under the amount of glue. The glitter glue we used was 6 ounces, so we measured out about 5 ounces of liquid starch. I’ve got a set of mini measuring cups we picked up at the grocery store that’s perfect for measuring slime. Mix.
Once the slime-to-be has pulled away from the side of the bowl, it’s time to knead it. Yes, you knead it like bread! Knead until you’ve reached the consistency of slime that you prefer.
When we were making these batches of slime, I realized I didn’t always get all of the glitter glue out of the bottle. So I squeezed out the last little bit and went back to kneading.
Once each batch of glittery monster slime is ready, store it overnight. We use airtight plastic bags or airtight containers to store our slime. You can use it right away once you have the right consistency, but I’ve found letting it settle overnight makes it even better.
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Ways to Play and Learn with Monster Slime
I don’t know about you, but when we make a new batch of slime, I love stretching it out. Holding it up high and watching it meander down to the table is usually the next thing we try! There’s just something soothing and fascinating about the sensory experience of playing with and manipulating slime.
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Making slime faces
I put the purple, green, and blue glitter slimes out on the table, along with a big platter. Then I added a couple of bowls filled with googly eyes. It was pointed out to me that “monsters need teeth, too!”, so white foam triangles were added to the slimy invitation to play and create.
Then it was onto making monster faces! We had a goofy blue monster with quite a few teeth.
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The purple slime started out as a bowl full of slimy eyeballs. Then it morphed into a Cylops.
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From there, it became a Cyclops with a unibrow. I’m still giggling about this one.
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A glittery green monster got a large tongue added to it, before we were sidetracked by the bubbles “growing” out of its slimy head.
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That green slime monster turned into a “monster snail leaving a trail of goo”.
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Monster slime sensory bags
We took part of each batch of slime and added them to separate plastic baggies. In went some googly eyes. And, presto! We had three sensory bags.
Slimy sensory bags are perfect for younger children who still put things in their mouths. I highly recommend sticking with name-brand plastic bags for this, as others aren’t quite as sturdy.
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The sensory bags can be squished and manipulated by little hands. You can turn it into a scavenger hunt for googly eyes, too. Sensory bags are also a great way to practice mark making and early writing.
Hanging the bags in the window lets kids explore light. And they can watch gravity take its effect on slime that way, as well.
Slimy monster bottles
If you want to give each child their own slime, making slime sensory bottles is a fun idea. We used these little round bottles we love, but I’d suggest wide-mouthed jars or bottles. It’s faster to put slime into those (although the noises made by putting slime into our sensory bottles did result in a lot of giggles).
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Hot glue some googly eyes to the bottles, and you’ve got some non-candy treats for the kids.
Large bottles that are only partially filled up would be great sensory bottles, too. This way, the kids could turn the bottles this way and that . . . watching the slime as it creeps from place to place.
What Do Kids Learn from Slime?
Just playing for play’s sake is important. Letting the kids get their hands on the slime and explore it how they like is just plain fun, and shouldn’t be taken lightly.
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But it’s always good to know what children might be learning as they play with their monster slime. So, here’s a list for you. It is, by no means, exhaustive:
- A chemical reaction takes place when the ingredients are mixed together, forming slime.
- Slime is a non-Newtonian liquid, which means it has properties of both a liquid and a solid.
- The effects of gravity can be explored using slime.
- Children can work on color recognition with slime.
- Adding shapes (like the circular googly eyes and triangular teeth) helps children identify shapes.
- Fine motor skills are at work as children add items to, and remove items from, the monster slime.
More Monster Slime Fun
As we were in the process of making and exploring our glitter monster slime, I saw a couple more you might enjoy:
- Slime invitation from Still Playing School that’s inspired by the beloved book Go Away, Big Green Monster.
- The Imagination Tree has a slimy sensory writing tray that looks like a blast!
Preschool Monster Lesson Plans
Save time and get right to the playful learning with our printable lesson plan sets. Each set includes over 30 learning activities related to the theme, and we’ve provided different versions for classroom teachers and home preschool families so all activities are geared directly toward your needs.
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This set includes active hands-on learning ideas, book suggestions, and the following printables:
- Monster Calendar (or general number) Cards
- Uppercase Monster Letter Cards
- Lowercase Monster Letter Cards
- Color Matching Monster Mats and Activity Pieces
- Counting Monster Mats (1-10)
- Roll and Count Monster Math Game Boards (6 versions)
- Feed the Monster Templates
- Monster Munchies Beginning Sound Cards
- Number Cubes (6 versions) for Monster Math Activities
- Roll-A-Monster Creative Art Activity Pieces and Game Cube
- Monsters’ Healthy Choices Recording Sheet
- Monster Hourse Beginning Sound Sort
- Monster Number Cards(0-35)
- Where Do Monsters Live Book Making Guide and Printable Pages
Get your monster-themed lesson plans:
Preschool Monster Lesson Plans for Preschool Classrooms
Monster-Themed Lesson Plans for Home Preschool Families
You can also find us on Teachers Pay Teachers
