"The Markers Don't Work!"

How may times have you heard, "Ms. (fill your name in here), this marker doesn't work!" I know I hear it all the time. Sometimes it is because our little friends forget to replace the caps, and sometimes the markers have just been "all used up!" What do you do with all those markers that just don't work? Please don't tell me that you throw them out, try this instead:

First, sort your markers out. Put the caps in one container (save those too, I'll show you what you can do with them in tomorrow's post) and the markers in another. I have a box for the markers that "don't work" for the children to place them into every time they run across one. You can also have the children help you test the markers periodically to sort out the ones that need to be removed from the "working set."

When it comes time to use "the markers that don't work," we use a small sponge paint roller to roll water onto our card stock paper. You can use a sponge or a large paint brush to wet your paper, but we have found that the rollers work the best and are the most fun to use. It is important that you use card stock or a strong paper to do this project. You don't want the paper to fall apart because it is wet. Coffee filters work great too!

When the paper is wet, you can use the markers that wouldn't work on dry paper:


If the paper starts to get too dry, you can run the roller over it again.

You can also use these markers to color your "gloop."

Our Gloop Recipe:
We use equal parts of liquid laundry starch and school glue. Mix them together with your hands. If the mixture is too sticky, add more starch. If it is too stringy, add more glue.


Some people call this mixture slime or silly putty, but in our opinion, it is "gloop!" You can make the gloop with some added food coloring if you like, or you can keep it white and color it with your markers that "don't work."


The gloop is great to play with. You can stretch it and pull it. It is icky sticky fun!



When you set it on the table, it flattens out and you can lift it quickly to make some big bubbles. (or you can use straws to blow air into it to make bubbles.)






After you have finished coloring with the markers, you can put them into jars of water to make "watercolors" or a "dye" for dropper dye art (Most people will do this by putting a little bit of food coloring into water, why not use your markers?):

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