One of our favorite goops is this recipe for homemade gak. It is made with borax which is a very toxic chemical so if you have a kid that likes to taste their doughs and goo you might want to find a cornstarch based version.
I don’t know what it is about gak, but my daughter will play with this stuff far longer than she will play with play dough. This is also relatively easy to clean up. A word to the wise- watch your carpets. If this falls on the ground as is not picked up immediately it will “melt” into the carpet…but hey, the fact that it melds to it’s surroundings is part of what makes it so fun!
If it happens to seep into your carpet just add a little bit of water to it and scrub. I have yet for this stuff to leave a stain or get stuck in there.
How to Make Homemade Gak:
You will need:
- Borax (1 tbsp.)
- Glue (7.6FL OZ)
- Glitter, Food Dye, or Both!
- 1 Cup Water
Or if you want to get crazy you can use glitter glue and get an awesome translucent thing going on….
Directions:
1. Warm up the 1 cup of water (I use the microwave)
2. Mix in the Borax with the hot water until it dissolves.
3. Mix the glue and desired glitter/food dye.
4. Combine the Water/Borax mixture with the Glue/Glitter
5. Play!
*When combining the water and glue, if everything is not absorbed you can do one of two things. You can throw it in the blender and give it a spin or you can gently pull out the glob in the center. While both will have the same results, pulling out the glob of gak from the water can be a bit messy and is definitely slimy.
This is such a fun texture to introduce to kids. If pulled it will break apart, it oozes when smushed, it molds to forms, and “melts” when left alone.
