Bust the Stress!

Project Discipline: Healthy Living
​Ages: All ages
Difficulty level: Easy
Supplies: Corn Starch & Aloe Vera (or lotion), bowl, measuring cups, spatula

I don't know about you, but all of this hand washing and sanitizing, paired with being stuck at home has left my kids and I with three sets of dry hands AND feeling a little bit (maybe a lot) stressed out.  Well, today's activity will take care of both of these problems, and we're so happy to share.

PC: Toy Divas

Step 1: Choose  & gather your ingredients. You have to have corn starch as one ingredient, but you can choose aloe vera OR lotion as the second ingredient. 
​You'll need:

• 1/2 cup corn starch
• 1/4 cup aloe vera or lotion

Batch 2: Using Lotion

Batch 1: We used aloe vera

Step 2:  Put 1/4 cup aloe vera into a bowl, and 1/4 cup of the corn starch. Mix with spatula.

Step 3: Once the first half of corn starch is mixed in completely, gradually add the other 1/4 cup and mix only until it is firm and not sticky. You may not have to use it all. If it's still too sticky, add a tiny bit of corn starch. If it's too dry, add some more of the gel or lotion.

Aloe Vera mixing with corn starch

Lotion mixing with corn starch

Step 4: Once the ball is starting to form, start kneading with your hands until it's an even consistency.  This part is the fun part, and when you will start noticing the pleasant effects of using this stress ball: moisturized hands and disappearing stress! 

That's it!  Knead your ball for stress relief, and if you're anything like these guys, you might discover a game you like to play with them too! 
Storage: if you aren't using your stress ball, please be sure to store it in a plastic bag so you can use it again and again!

How did it turn out?  Show us your photos on the Alaska 4-H Facebook page!

We discovered this activity on Toydivas.com, but tweaked the instructions a bit.  I think if you want colored balls, like the photo at the top of the post, you may need to introduce some food coloring, but we did not! ​