Super balls. Every kid loves ’em. Who knew you could make ’em. We wanted to see if they would work. Okay…. FUN! It was a gooey and sticky process but look how cool they are!!!You will need:
- 1 Tbls. glue (Elmers glue, NOT craft/tacky glue. Just trust me on this!)
- 1/2 tsp. Borax
- 1 Tbls. cornstarch
- 4 Tbls. warm water
- food coloring
- Put the glue and food coloring in one cup. Mix it up.
- In another cup mix the Borax, cornstarch and warm water. Stir.
- Add the water mix to the glue mix and stir it up!
It’ll be a gooey blob at this point. 
- Dump the liquid out of the cup and roll into a ball. You’ll have to do this for awhile. It’ll be pretty mushy and a little gross feeling at first. Keep rolling. If it seems too “wet” roll it on a paper towel to get some of the liquid off.
Keep rolling and there you have it… homemade super balls!Just a side note – in the morning or when they sit for awhile, they will flatten out somewhat. We stored ours in the plastic Easter eggs to help keep their shape. But just roll them again when you pick them up and they will go back to being a ball.
I’m linking to the linky parties on my sidebar!
As well as:
How fun! I will so have to do this with my kids! Thanks!
Fun project! Very similar to making slime.
How fun are you! I bet your kids think you hung the moon! Love your ideas.
mickey
What a fun project, Erin. Your kids will surely grow up to be scientists or inventors with very creative minds.
we are definitely making these this summer! thanks!
These are great! What a fun way to keep the kids entertained, and when they are done, they have a toy to play with…perfect:)
You are such a F.U.N. mom! LOVE your wild and crazy ideas. I think it is WAY cool to be able to DIY these kinds of projects.
I am going to share this with my cousin who teaches a science camp during the summer. This would be a great project for her to do with her kids! Thanks for sharing!
I loved super balls when I was a kid:) The name of your blog is spot on, Erin!
Fantastic as always!!!! Erin you are the best…How fun it would be to grow up in your house!
Take care!
How fun is that! My boy would love this:) Adding it to our summer to do list!
so did not know you could make your own super balls! do they bounce just as well? i am extremely impressed. loves it, thanks for the post!
-meg
@http://clutzycooking.blogspot.com
What a fun idea! I’m glad I found it since we are 2 days from school being over and I am searching high and low for fun summer ideas. Thanks so much for posting it.
Seriously cool!! I had no idea you could do this!
I would love if you would share this at our Monday Playdate at Beneath the Rowan Tree 🙂
http://beneaththerowantree.blogspot.com/2011/05/new-and-improved-playdate-link-party.html
Lori
http://www.beneaththerowantree.com
Come & Play :: Monday Playdate
No way! Never did I think you could make your own bouncy balls!
Would love for you to share over at Calling All Crafters!
http://allthingsfee.blogspot.com/2011/05/calling-all-crafters-8th-edition.html
Awesome!!! What a fun idea!
What an awesome project! I can’t wait till my daughter’s old enough to do this kind of stuff with… I will be living on your site then 🙂 On a totally unrelated and pointless note, my daughter has the same Dora paper cups. Not that it makes any difference :p Thank you for sharing!
holy cow! who knew you could make your own balls!? thanks for sharing! definitely going on the summer to do list!
So fun! I’m definitely bookmarking this!
Kristen
Turning a House into a Home
http://www.decoratingdiy.blogspot.com
These look fun! I’m gonna have to make some =D Stopping by from Under The Table & Dreaming. I would love for you to link your post to My Favorite Things Party going on all week. Hope to see you there!
~Iffy~
http://www.stayathomenation.blogspot.com
wow what a great experiment lots of fun come see some that I shared at my blog http://shopannies.blogspot.com
Definitely going to have to do this. My kids love balls. Thanks for the recipe and directions.
–Rachel visiting from Take a Look Tuesday
We always wanted to make some of these in one of our high school chem classes! 🙂 Maybe I will finally get to! LOL!
So glad I found your blog… your new follower from Malaysia. Love PC
I absolutely had to click over when I saw this linky! I love making things myself!
I’ll be featuring this tomorrow on my blog…thanks for sharing!!
fussymonkeybiz.blogspot.com
Hi Erin – This is super cool. I can’t wait to try these – I am sure they will be a hit. Thanks so much for linking to the Sunday Showcase party – I greatly appreciate it. I hope you don’t mind that I have included this in today’s features. Hope you have a lovely holiday weekend ~ Stephanie Lynn
K, you have to be the funnest mom ever! You should write a book. I love your ideas! Thanks for linking up at DIY Thrifty Thursday!
~Michelle
Happily featuring this post on my blog tomorrow! Cannot wait to give this a try with my kiddos. Thanks so much for linking it up!
Wendy @ http://www.wmcraftgoodies.blogspot.com
I LOVE this idea and we have all the ingredients too. This is going on my list of things to do with the kids as soon as school is out in a couple weeks.
Thanks so much for linking it up to my Summer Fun party!
Laura @ Come Together Kids
Oh I hope you link this up this week! You make some of the funnest things!
Make & Share craft hop at HOMEmomMADE.
This is so cool! Going to have to make these this summer!
such fun! I shared it here:
http://dollarstoremom.com/2011/05/make-high-bouncing-balls/
Thanks for adding this to our Monday Playdate at Beneath the Rowan Tree! i have featured it in this week’s round up!
Come and snag a featured button if you like!
Cheers,
Lori
http://beneaththerowantree.com
This looks like fun to make! Thanks for sharing with Sweets This Week!
How fun! My daughter saw your post and is now begging to make these. 🙂
Thanks I will have to try this! Kristy from my crafty healthy blog http://www.apronsandapples.blogspot.com
SURPRISE!!!! This amazing post has been featured at this week’s For the Kids Link Party at Sun Scholars. Thanks so much for sharing, and be sure to stop by and grab an A++ button for your blog! I can’t wait to see what you have for us this week! Party is now posted… so hop on by!
http://sunscholars.blogspot.com/2011/06/for-kids-friday-13.html
What a great idea. Please add my e-mail address to get your blog. Thank you. Susan steveac@bellsouth.net
So fun! The kids and I made these this morning, and they loved them! What a fun little activity. I’ve shared this on a post today with a link back to you. http://sunscholars.blogspot.com/2011/06/super-bouncy-balls.html
And I see you are in Oregon! I was born and raised there… miss it so much.
Thanks again for sharing! Always love seeing what you’re up to!
Fabulous idea!!! My boys are going to love this! I’m so happy to have found your site through sun schooler’s, I need all the ideas I can to keep 4 kids busy this summer!
Hi there!
I would love to do this, but over here we don’t have Elmers glue…could you tell me a bit more about it…perhaps I can find an alternative.
Many thanks,
Georgia
Is Elmers glue like PVA glue? Would love to have a go…but we are in the UK and don’t have the Elmers brand.
Can’t wait to try this with my guys, found y ou on Tip Junkie! Thanks for posting!
Okay, you are single-handedly helping me become the “funnest mom ever!”. I made these with my kids yesterday and they LOVED it. I was amazed that they really do bounce pretty well.
I posted about our fun and linked back to you.
http://cometogetherkids.blogspot.com/2011/06/make-your-own-bouncy-balls.html
Thanks so much for linking up to my Summer Fun party. I hope you continue to share more of your awesome ideas throughout the summer.
Laura @ Come Together Kids
thank you for sharing my nephews are going to love the idea of making them
This looks like fun. Adding borax to my grocery list right now…
This didn’t work out so well for us 🙁 Our balls were never really solid. It formed a ball, but they were really soft – they bounced, but they were not what I was expecting. I am determined to keep trying though!!! If anyone has any tips, please share!
Can’t wait to try these!
Tracy
http://www.naptimecraftmommy.blogspot.com
Ok, I’ve looked everywhere and tried to figure out what Borax is but I can’t find it. I guess I don’t know what I’m looking for. Where can I find this? Thanks
Great recipe! It worked well. On one of mine I omited the cornstarch and it has a bit more bounce now. These are not the super balls from our day but are a fun little bouncer. Borax can be found in the detergent isle of your hardware store like Ace. Thanks for the recipe!
-margaret
ok what did we do wrong? ours keep having slits or cracks in them – won’t form into a round ball all the way.
please help
Jessica – I’m not sure what you did. Maybe added too much Borax? If the “goo” gets too dry it won’t form into a ball.
I used this recipe during therapy for kids with Autism and the kids loved it! Thank you for sharing.
Just added this to my summer crafts for my boys.
oh my goodness, who would’ve ever thought?! fabulous idea! 🙂 lisa
These look like great fun! My son would love them.
My own kids are grown but I do a resource room for kids from age 2 to grade 2. I am always looking for great learning ideas. I was able to find your site by going through three others. You have some great ideas here and I look forward to visiting often. May God bless you.
Thank you Cher. So glad you found us!
I am bookmarking this for a fun homeschool activity. Thanks for sharing!
This is SUCH a good idea! I don’t have kids, personally, but I just might make one for myself 😉 Cheers!
How many bouncy balls did this recipe make?
You only make one bouncy ball in each cup.
Hi! This is a great idea! We are making these for a school project but the balls are not hardening? Did you have this problem? Please let me know if you have any tips! I bought new glue, Borax and corn starch hoping that helps!
Hi Lisa. The only thing that I can think of is your glue. There definitely is a difference between craft glue and the good old Elmers glue. And I believe Elmers has some new glue out called “school glue”. I don’t know what’s different about (and what makes it washable) it but I wouldn’t use it.
Hope this helps! Let me know how it turns out.
This worked out great! I tried other recipes on line and none of them worked out. My son stayed home from school today because he is sick (he’s three), so I figured it would be a good day to do a craft with him. Thank you for this great idea and instructions that actually worked!
I’m so glad it worked for you! Hope your son feels better!