Preschool students like to get messy and explore with sensory activities. This slime sensory activity is a great way to build fine muscle strength, practice counting and try some simple addition. Preschoolers will enjoy stretching and pulling the slime, as they find a specific number of objects to count and add.
This activity was a blast and totally not as messy as I thought. The idea for this activity was actually sent to me from education.com. I was so excited that they contacted me and Grace had the best time doing this slime activity. It was super easy to set up and Grace played with it for about 45 minutes! I know………that’s such a long time! This activity is definitely winner!
Ok, I know you’re excited to get started so here we go………………..
What You Need:
- Slime (slime is different than play dough in that slime is super stretchy, with the option of purchasing or making extra soft, soft, medium, and firm. The more resistance, the more the hand muscles needed to pull and stretch the slime.) I actually used this simple slime recipe from especiallyeducation.com.
- Small objects – such as beans, beads or anything else that is small enough to put at least 10-15 in the slime.
- What’s in the Slime Printable (There are 2 different options – at the top of the printable is the single 10 frame mat and towards the bottom of the printable is the double 10 frame mat for double addition or subtraction practice.)
What You Do:
- Make the slime.
- Hide the small objects you are using in the slime. Make sure the objects are not visible.
- Explain to your child/students that they will be using slime. Slime has a bit of a sticky, cold feel to it, and is stretchy.
- Tell your students that inside the slime are 10 beans/objects (or however many objects you put).
- Explain that they will need to pull and stretch the slime until they find all the beans/objects.
- As they find the beans/objects they should count them by adding them to the What’s in the Slime mat. As they are finding and counting the beans/objects, you can ask questions like –
How many more do we need to find to fill the 10 frame?
How many beans/objects have you found so far?
How does the slime feel?
7. Continue until they have found all the beans/objects you hid in the slime. Then ask more questions like –
How many beans/objects did you find?
How did you know you found that many?
Extending this activity is easy.
You can add to this activity, depending on your students’ math ability.
You can use the double slime mat to practice double digit addition or subtraction.
You can add 2 different objects to the slime and have your child/students count, add, or subtract them.
You can add many different objects to the slime and have your child/students graph them.
This counting and simple addition slime activity was slime-tastic! Grace loved it so much she actually invited a group of her friends over and they all played it. It was an overwhelming success! Play this activity with your child/students and let them explore the wonderful world of math and slime!
For more really great math and addition resources click here! https://www.education.com/resources/addition
