Today we did the unthinkable.
We made homemade bouncy balls.
I’ve seen this project all over Pinterest,
but I’ve always been put off by the impending mess.
In reality it wasn’t all that bad.
It’s actually something that you can do with your preschool class.
Especially, if you have a triple shot espresso beforehand.
Ahem.
We used the instructions and recipe found here
MODIFICATIONS: Don’t use any cornstarch. This is what happens:
TIP: Instead of mixing water and borax for each bouncy ball, just mix a big batch beforehand, then all you have to do is work with each child with the glue and their food coloring, pouring a tiny amount of the borex solution in as needed. It actually doesn’t take as much as is stated.
You’ll get a feel for it as you go
DON’T OVERMIX!
It will just become harder and harder to get into that round ball shape.
As ours hardened we often had to pick them up and round them out a bit,
there are cracks and such, but we were never able to get them out.
Also, the bottom side flattened a tad as it dried.
We also tried an egg carton which gave us more of a diamond shaped bottom.
The kiddos actually didn’t mind spending their time rolling and re-rolling them into balls. Whatever the shape yours end up in, they really do bounce a couple of feet off the ground, they aren’t crazy Super Bouncy Balls, but a great hands on science project for real cheep~ Plus the kiddos love that they can customize their own bouncy balls!
