ORANGE Slime!-- Celebrating Unity Day 2016

As many of you know, October is National Bullying Prevention Month. This event was created by Pacer to help bring awareness to the issue of bullying and unite students and adults from all over the nation to work together to end bullying once and for all. One important part of National Bullying Prevention Month is Unity Day. Unity Day is a day on which Pacer encourages schools, communities, and individuals to show that they are united against bullying and united for acceptance and inclusion. A few ways they suggest doing this are by organizing assemblies, participating in walks or runs, and wearing ORANGE —the color of bullying prevention! 

To show our support of Unity Day, we decided to adapt our fun This is A. Blob Slime craft to be ORANGE!! This craft, designed to accompany the picture book, This is A. Blob, by L.A. Kefalos, is a fun way to begin the discussion about bullying with your younger children while joining in the Unity Day activities. As you mix your slime ingredients, talk about the “ingredients” that go into making a bully, such as insecurity and pain. As the mixture turns gooey, discuss how small words and actions can lead to a big sticky mess of bullying when they combine!

​Once the slime is finished, there are countless fun and educational ways to play with it! You can talk about how, just like the slime, words are sticky—for good or for bad. Have the children recall something kind someone said to them and something unkind. How does it feel to remember those words?
Wouldn’t they like to stick kind words in someone’s memory?

You can also use the slime to recreate scenes from This is A. Blob, by L.A. Kefalos or even to role play bullying or kindness moments your child has witnessed or experienced. 

Picture via Pacer.org/bullying

Another fun idea is to give the slime away as a random act of kindness for your celebration of Unity Day! ​​

However you choose to play, the important thing is that you have fun and bring awareness to the importance of bullying prevention!!  

Here are the steps you'll need to create your own ORANGE A. Blob!

What You'll Need: ​

• Copy of This is A. Blob, by L.A. Kefalos
• 1tsp Borax
• 1 ½ cups warm water
• 1 8oz bottle of glue 
• 2 nonstick mixing bowls
• 2 spoons
• Food coloring (Red and Yellow!) 
• Plastic baggies (Makes enough for 3)

​Step 1: Read This is A. Blob, by L.A. Kefalos

​Step 2: Discuss
Open discussion about the book: Were A. Blob’s actions acceptable? How do you think these actions made the other children feel? Why do you think A. Blob acted the way it did? What would/could you do if you were on the playground to stop bullying?

​Step 3: Create!

​1. To make your own "A. Blob", begin by emptying 1 bottle of glue (or 1 cup) into your larger bowl
​

2. Fill the empty glue bottle with warm water and add it to the glue, stirring completely. From experience I can tell you that the better you mix the glue and water, the smoother your slime will turn out. 

I've also found that the hotter the water, the "slimier" the slime will be. Cooler water will produce a firmer slime that resembles silly putty in texture.

​3. Mix in food coloring until the desired color is achieved. I used 15 drops of red and yellow to get this particular shade of orange.
​

​
4. In your smaller bowl, mix 1tsp of Borax with 1/2 cup of warm to hot water. Again, the hotter the water, the easier this step will be and the slimier your slime will turn out. Make sure to stir until the Borax is completely dissolved.

​

​5. Slowly add the Borax mixture to the glue mixture, mixing as you pour. When the mixture becomes too sticky to stir, use your hands to finish combining the ingredients. 

Just a note: The glue will come out of clothes, but the food coloring does stain, so be sure to wear old clothes when mixing!

6. Play!
​

​

There are so many exciting ways to spread the message to stop bullying and start living with kindness. I hope you enjoy this little twist on our favorite craft. Let us know how YOU are celebrating Unity Day in the comments below!
​
​

Fun with This is A. Blob Slime! Happy Unity Day 2016!!

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

​Books are excellent tools for helping children build empathy and become upstanders! This is A. Blob is a masterfully illustrated picture book suitable for children ages 4-8. Written by Lori Kefalos, author of several award-nominated animated shorts, This is A. Blob is the first of a series following this bully. This first installment follows the antics of A. Blob, a slimy, purple, blob-like creature who wreaks havoc on the elementary school playground with its bullying ways. As the story progresses, however, readers learn that there might be more to A. Blob than meets the eye. Along with its powerful illustrations and rhymed verse for early readers, this story invites children to put themselves in the shoes of another. The book demonstrates that a bully can come in any shape, size, or color and encourages readers to consider why bullies behave the way they do – and start to consider what can be done to help.

---

​BOOK 2 NOW AVAILABLE!​
A. Blob is back, and this time it's on a bus! As the slimy bully pokes and pesters the children of Lincoln Elementary School, it seems like they will never be able to ride the bus in peace. That is, until one brave girl takes stand. 

Can one act of bravery change everything--including A. Blob? Find out in this second installment of The Blob Series!