Goopy-Goop Recipe

Goopy-Goop Recipe

~ 1 part white glue
~ aprox. 1 part liquid starch
~ (optional liquid food color)
~ (optional glitter)
~ (optional googly eyes)

Pour glue into a large ziplock bag. Add starch and close bag. Gently knead bag until your fingers pass out and the contents appear to be a stringy nasty mess. Continue mushing the bag (perhaps get someone else to oblige) until the contents form into silly putty. Take it out and feel it with your hands. If the ending putty is sticking to your hands, add more starch. If the ending putty appears to be slimy with starch, that's ok, just stretch it and knead it with your hands until it is all mixed in.

The basic recipe makes white goopy-goo. You can easily color it by adding a few drops of food dye, some sprinkles of glitter, or both! Green is a classic color for the goopy stuff, though my class has usually opted for a blueish goo. You can also just pour glitter on the table, and let the kids "mop it up" with the Goopy-Goo. They love this, especially with different colored glitter.

Adding a handful of plastic googly eyes to the Goopy-Goo was an awesome idea that predicated hours of monster making, as the eyes can be used over and over again with each new Goopy-Goo creation.

I have found that storing the goo works best in a ziplock bag. It dries out very slowly, and can be left on the table for an hour or two with no ill effects, but does need to be air-tight for overnight. 

When I first made goopy-goo, I anticipated it being a fun afternoon activity that would be roughly equivalent (in fun and clean-up) to play-dough. On the contrary, it was explosively popular, and clean-up was ridiculously easy. Over the past few months, the Goopy-Goo is the only "toy" that is played with every single day by multiple kids. 

How long does it last? Well, interestingly enough, after a week or two, I noticed that the volume of the substance seemed to have decreased, and the weight of it seemed to have increased. It became thicker, and stiffer, and instead of dripping slowly, had to be pulled to stretch and shape. The slow change in physical properties of the Goopy-Goop actually appeared to contribute to the kids' lasting interest in it. After about a month, I kneaded some water into it (which took forever) to try and rehydrate it. The end result was a sticky mess that flowed too freely, and got everywhere.

When (not if) it gets stuck on the kids clothing, you might be able to pull it off quickly if it hasn't been on too long. If it has, it will be impossible to get out with your fingers, but will dry like white glue, and come right out in the wash.

I highly recommend installing Goopy-Goo into your classroom. The kids learned quickly how to keep it away from their clothing and hair, and it is also a favorite with parents when they come to pick up their kids. As a side note, if you ever run out of tape or sticky tac for hanging up paper projects on bulletin boards, tiny balls of goopy-goo work great. They stick like sticky tac, and then over the next day they dry like elmers glue. This makes the papers really easy to pull off of a painted wall or contact paper bulletin board. I wouldn't recommend it for a butcher paper bulletin board, though I have not personally experimented with this.

 Twisting it can actually take a bit of hand/arm muscle and coordination and concentration.

 Goopy-Goo can be stretched into really long strings, and used to draw letters, or make whole houses. Unlike play-dough, which seems to require copious amounts of cookie cutters and play-dough "toys" to keep the kids entertained, Goopy-Goop is great fun on it's own, or with the addition of a handful of plastic googly eyes.

Notice that this boy is using both hands to push and shape the Goopy-Goop, working his whole upper body in the process. As silly as it sounds, even four year olds should be exercising their upper body and core muscles. And with the amount of time this boy spends kneading, stretching, and fine-motoring this goo, he is going to be in great shape to begin his life healthy.

Somebody likes her Goopy-Goop a little too much...