Fun Goop ~ Corn Starch Goop

Today, we had a lot of fun at Charles’ preschool. Usually, the kids go to the small classroom with their teacher Ellen while parents and siblings stay in the living & play room area. This is an old house and I think the classroom used to be the laundry room but it’s the perfect size and it’s really awesome.

The schedules conflicts because James’ first therapist appointment starts 10 minutes earlier than Charles preschool and the two are on the opposite side of town. Since an adult HAS to stay there because of insurance reasons, my mother in law said she would take James to his appointment. That’s great, if we could just get to her place on time. We were walking, with both of the boys on their bikes and the girls were bundled up in the stroller. Unfortunately, we got out later than I thought because James took a 20-minute bathroom break. GRRRR… And then I didn’t bother to look at my watch until we were halfway to Carey’s parents and I then realized that we were about 10 minutes late at that time. James then made it worse by deciding today would be the day that he didn’t listen. When we got to lights he would just sit there! In some cases, the sidewalks are narrow enough that we couldn’t be side by side and since he often arrived at a light first, he was in the front. In one case we sat through three lights before he would go. So I was quite harried when I finally arrived at his grandmother’s to drop him off. Thank goodness that I was right across the street from the preschool. So even though James was phenomenally late, Charles was right on time.

This week was different because none of the other kids showed up. At first the teacher had let Deedee and Kitty come in too and they were having fun with blocks. The plan was to take the girls out when the other kids arrived. After a while, she decided they just weren’t coming so she got Charles set up for their activity: Cornstarch Goop. She also graciously invited Deedee to take part too. Kitty just sort of wandered around getting into stuff; being nosy is what she does best. The really cool thing about cornstarch goop is that one second it can be a solid and the next, it’s a liquid the approximate consistency of glue. The kids had a blast playing with it and they had it everywhere. That is, until Kitty knocked over the jug of water and flooded everything. I was able to grab Deedee away before she got a lap full of water, but three chairs wound up with puddles and there was a huge puddle on the floor. LOL Kitty is so curious and she has to be right in the thick of things. She wasn’t satisfied with the small handful of goop that I had handed her; she wanted more! She actually climbed up on the table and was on her way to the end with her siblings when she knocked the water over. So the last few minutes were taken up with everyone cleaning the mess. What else I love about goop is that it’s actually easy to clean up. It dissolves quickly, it will usually sweep up easily and when it dries it flakes off easily.

~ Cornstarch Goop ~

• 1 box of cornstarch
• a container of water
• a bowl(s)
• spoons(s)
• measuring cup(s)
• newspaper or plastic tablecloth
• a large cookie sheet with sides
• food coloring

Lay out the newspaper or tablecloth to protect your surface and provide a quick clean up if you want. We didn’t do this and had no problems. (Ellen forgot ) Since this is an activity that’s fun for multiple ages, you can do lots of stuff to keep them all interested. For the older children, they might have fun helping you measure bits of cornstarch and water. The younger children would also have fun measuring or they might just want to dump it all together. You can’t go wrong: too watery add more cornstarch; too hard add a bit more water. You just mix until the cornstarch is all incorporated and you have a slimy consistency. You can have the kids mix their goops in bowls with their hands or spoons (my kids found it easier to use their hands). They then poured it out into the cookie sheet to play with it and experience it. Don’t worry if the kids eat it. It’s completely safe and non-toxic. If you want different colors, add food coloring. The kids really like that although, we didn’t do that this time. They’ve had fun with this goop before.

So what’s all the fuss about this super simple goop? It teaches cause and effect since it changes consistency so easily and if pushed to once side will usually form itself back together in a "solid" mass. It’s really easy for the kids to see themselves changing things. It’s also great for fine motor skills as well as sensory as they handle with oddly textured fun. Plus, who doesn’t like something that’s relatively easy to clean?