Sunday 25 September 2011

How to make Goop (Toddler Arts & Crafts Fun)

Today was a miserable and rainy day; not really uncommon in Glasgow but still not nice. NotBlondeHusband had very kindly volunteered to tidy up the living room but that meant Blondie Boy and I needed to find something to do. While BB loves putting things away he also loves pulling things out so not really conducive for a proper tidy up. So arts and crafts it was for us!

I decided to attempt some craftiness and make some Goop. The Goop I'm talking about has nothing to do with Fishsticks Paltrow and is more a slimy, slippery concoction that can be both semi-solid and liquid--basically it's really cool to kids and really messy.

I found a few different recipes online but basically it's just corn starch (corn flour in the UK) and water. A few recipes said equal parts and a few said 2:1 so I just threw in all the corn starch I had and them started with 1/2 that amount of water and added more. I also threw in some flour and baking soda as I didn't have a lot of cornstarch and some purple food colouring to make it fun.

goop toddler arts crafts fun

You can see it's liquid but also holds it's shape and basically that means it's fun to play with and a good textural experience for toddlers or something like that. You grab a handful and it immediately turns to liquid and drips down your hands!

Since NBH was already cleaning downstairs I didn't want another mess to clean so we played with our Goop in the tub. In all honesty it's not hard to clean up as when it dries it turns into a chalky powder but playing in the tub meant Blondie Boy had a large canvas to paint and splatter and I could hose him and it down afterwards. I'm glad I added the food colouring as that meant he could also use it like finger paints, too.

toddler arts crafts fun messy goop

It all washed off of both him and the tub with just the power of the hand-held shower head and because I used food colouring it didn't stain him or our tub. It was cheap, easy, messy and fun--everything you need to please a toddler and parent.

What's your favourite cheap and easy toddler craft/art activity?


13 comments:

Glasgow Mummy said...

I think I'll try this. Toddler not been well, he's better now but we've been in the house for a number of days & I'm running out of activities. We do lots of colouring & painting. Did some stamping with potatoes & finger paints recently.

Ticia said...

That is so fun. Just FYI you dont want to rinse it down be drain because it can clog plumbing

Melaina25 said...

Looks like great fun was had there - messy play in bathroom is a great idea to contain the mess!

Melaina25 said...

Looks like great fun was had there - messy play in bathroom is a great idea to contain the mess!

Melaina25 said...

lol love it x

Melaina25 said...

The tub is a brilliant idea!

Melaina25 said...

I have yet to try Goop - am a bit timid of the stuff but doing it in the tub sounds like a great idea to contain the mess.

Would love to have you link up to the Sunday Showcase (open thru Thurs.) - a child centered linky party to share ideas http://momto2poshlildivas.blogspot.com/search/label/Sunday%20ShowcaseBern

Melaina25 said...

Thanks I've linked up!

Melaina25 said...

Oh SWEET!!! I LOVE GOOP!!! I'll make some for my girls and they better share with me!


Thanks so much for sharing this at The DIY Dreamer.. From Dream To Reality!

Melaina25 said...

It was super easy!

Melaina25 said...

I'm all about easy clean up :)

Melaina25 said...

Whoops!

Melaina25 said...

We've not done potato stamps but we did apple stamping for St Pats!