Earlier this summer, I asked my children what they most wanted to do over their summer break. "Make slime!" my six-year-old exclaimed. I dutifully added "make slime" to our bucket list, but I have to admit I wasn't very excited to do it. It sounded like a gross, messy project. I also thought it would require a lot of ingredients and take a long time. Was I ever wrong! This slime craft is awesome!

• It requires only THREE ingredients, two of which I already had on hand.
• It comes together in just a few minutes.
• It is surprisingly not messy! (One of my children dropped his entire gob of slime on our living room rug. I was thisclose to freaking out, but it easily peeled off our rug in one piece! [praise hands])
• It's super-fun!
• Aaaaaaand, after we made our slime, it occurred to me that I could easily incorporate a Bible lesson into this. I think this would be a very fun (and modern!) project to do at Sunday or Midweek School (grades 3K-2). I've included instructions for making slime both with and without the Bible lesson.

How to Make Slime {simple procedure}

Ingredients:

• 6 fl. oz. of colored glitter glue*
• 1 Tbsp. multi-purpose contact solution (Renu or generic equivalent)
• 1.5 tsp. baking soda

Procedure:

1. Into a bowl, pour out the entire contents of a 6-oz. container of glitter glue.
2. Add 1 Tbsp. contact solution and stir with a spoon.
3. Add 1.5 tsp. baking soda and stir until slime forms and it begins to get harder to mix.
4. Take the slime out and begin kneading with both hands.
5. Store finished slime in an airtight container (or bag).**

*Note: I kept things simple by buying individual containers of glitter glue, which you can find in lots of different colors.  (I got mine at Michael's. They had a big display of "slime" materials right by the entrance!) You could probably save money by getting a big tub of glue and measuring it out. If you do this, though, you would need to add your own food coloring and glitter if you wanted to make it fancy.

**Note: Over time, the slime loses some of its gooeyness, but it still very pliable and fun to play with for quite a while. We made our slime on July 4th, and I was able to make this "Jesus" design three weeks later!

How to Make Slime {Bible activity}

Key Verses:

{1} "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23 NIV)

{2} "And this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also." (1 Peter 3:21 NIV)

{3} “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow." (Isaiah 1:18 NIV)

Ingredients:

• 6 fl. oz. of colored glitter glue*
• 1 Tbsp. multi-purpose contact solution (Renu or generic equivalent)
• 1.5 tsp. baking soda

Procedure:

1. Tell the children that, because of Adam and Eve's choice to disobey God, we are all like the gloopy glue. We're still beautiful because God made and loves us, but we are kind of a mess without Him. Say key verse #1, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23 NIV).
2. Into a bowl, pour out the entire contents of a 6-oz. container of glitter glue. (To make things easier, you can pre-measure the glue for the children.)
3. Say key verse #2, "And this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also." (1 Peter 3:21 NIV). Explain how them that the contact solution reminds us of the waters of baptism.
4. Add 1 Tbsp. contact solution and stir with a spoon.
5. Say key verse #3, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow." (Isaiah 1:18 NIV). Point out that the baking soda looks like snow when we sprinkle it on.
6. Have the children sprinkle the baking soda onto their mixture. 
7. The children can continue to combine the mixture, first with a spoon and then eventually removing it from the bowl and kneading it with their hands. The slime will form quickly into an amazingly fun, squishy lump!
8. Pray: Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for taking our messy sinful selves and--through baptism and Jesus' great act of sacrificial love--we become a new, much better creation. Please help us to be molded into His image. In Jesus' name, we pray, Amen.
9. Now that the slime is made, you can have the children play with the slime while they practice the Bible verses, or you can work together to spell out "Jesus" or one of the words from the verses. There are lots of possibilities!
10. Store finished slime in an airtight container (or bag).**

*Note: I kept things simple by buying individual containers of glitter glue, which you can find in lots of different colors.  (I got mine at Michael's. They had a big display of "slime" materials right by the entrance!) You could probably save money by getting a big tub of glue and measuring it out. If you do this, though, you would need to add your own food coloring and glitter if you wanted to make it fancy.

**Note: Over time, the slime loses some of its gooeyness, but it still very pliable and fun to play with for quite a while. We made our slime on July 4th, and I was able to make this "Jesus" design three weeks later!

Warning: Adult supervision is required. This project is not appropriate for children under the age of 3 years. If large quantities of contact solution are accidentally ingested (greater than a tablespoon), seek medical attention immediately.