A little bit like play dough or modelling clay, only much more delightfully messy, goop is a squishy slippery substance to provide a bunch of bored kids with hours of good clean (messy) indoor fun. What Do Kids Learn From Playing With Goop? The folks at
A Place of Our Own on PBS say:Kids learn cause and effect when they see when they touch the goop, move it around, and see the material come back together. They also develop their fine motor and sensory skills by manipulating and handling the goop. Goop play can be an educational activity for the little darlings, too!Make up the goop yourself, and you'll know what's in it edible and non-toxic ingredients from the kitchen cupboard so if a toddler stuffs a fistful in his mouth, no need to panic! Homemade goop will keep in the fridge for a couple of days, but you probably don't want to blow an entire box of cornstarch on making it, do you? I like Lil Duck Duck's
recipe for homemade goop because it makes a reasonably small quantity.Homemade Goop RecipeToo easy! Basically, you just mix together cup of cornstarch and cup of water, adding another few drops of water as needed to keep the goop all nice and goopy some people like to add a bit of food colouring to it, and I suppose you could even sneak a bit of a colour theory lesson for the kiddies by doing so. Just remember to cover the kids and the table with plastic or something else that's easy to clean, put the girls' long hair up in ponytails or even in a plastic shower cap (you do take home those complimentary shower caps when you stay in a hotel, don't you?) ... and maybe hide away any beautiful long-haired pets!
