The kids are going to love this!!! Homemade Rubbery Goop is perfect for sensory play opportunities as it is safe and non-toxic using basic ingredients found in your pantry.
Rubbery Goop looks and feels like basic play dough but it is textured differently. It is smooth, soft and slightly stretchy. Moulding it in the hands is very addictive as the texture is delightful. It is so much fun to play with, you can pull the goop apart and roll it back together to form a smooth ball. You can squeeze it and it will squish through your fingers
How to make Rubbery Goop?
Rubbery Goop can be stretched and pulled apart into smaller pieces (not dry or crumbly) and it all rolls back up into a smooth soft ball.
Ingredients:
2 cups bi-carbonate soda (baking soda)
1 ½ cups water
1 cup of cornflour (corn starch)
Food colouring (optional)
Instructions:
- Combined all ingredients into a saucepan.
- Mix the ingredients together using a whisk to remove lumps.
- Heat on stove stirring with a wooden spoon.
- Bring the mixture to the boil continuously stirring.
- Small lumps will begin to appear, continue to stir until a thick mixture has formed.
- Turn out onto the bench. Be careful the Rubbery Goop will be very hot!
- Knead together to form a smooth ball of Rubbery Goop.
- Store in a plastic zip-lock bag or air tight container.
There are no preservatives in this recipe and depending on how many children play with the Rubbery Goop, it can last up to two weeks.
Let’s Play
Rubbery Goop can be played with much like play dough. It is soft, stretchy and easy to mould and shape.
Some Ideas:
- Play with Rubbery Goop much like play dough using rolling pins, play scissors and cookie cutters.
- Add gemstones, bottle tops, shells, toy cars, dinosaurs or any other nick knacks from around the house.
- Use descriptive language to describe the experience, how does the Rubbery Goop feel? It feels soft, smooth and stretchy.
Let’s Learn
Learning Opportunities
- Creativity and imagination
- Fine Motor Development
- Hand-Eye Coordination
- Sensory- Development of the sense of touch. Feeling and manipulating objects.
- Oral language development- using descriptive language.
Click here for more SENSORY activities & play ideas
How do you store this?
Hi Nicole, I have stored our Rubbery Goop in a plastic zip-lock bag in the fridge but it could also be stored in an air tight container. Have fun 🙂
How long does it last in a container?
Hi Melodie, There are no preservatives in this recipe and depending on how many children play with the Rubbery Goop, it can last up to two weeks. I also keep my gloop in the fridge.
Can you use non-toxic childens paint to color the group instead of food coloring?
Hi Marija, I haven’t tried colouring the rubbery goop using paint before but I can’t think why it wouldn’t work. Good luck! 🙂
I just had a go at making this dough – it’s such an intriguing recipe. I cooked mine for about 10 mins on the stove until it was a pasty blob, and now cooled, it is a bit sticky. Should I have cooked it longer, maybe until it formed a real ball in the saucepan?
Hi Rowena, it sounds like you may have needed to continue to cook the goop a little longer until most of the stickiness formed a ball. The goop needs to come to the boil before it starts to form a solid ball. It is so much fun to play with and has a really unique texture. I hope this helps, thanks 🙂
Hi! I think I undercooked it. It is sticky… Can I fix it or should I start all over again? Please Help!
Hi Yoanna, I have made the rubbery goop a few times and have also undercooked it before when I have been in a hurry. I just placed it back on the stove a little longer and stirred it until the stickiness went. Good luck 🙂
We cooked and cooled….followed the directions, it was a really soft play dough consistency… Not rubbery?
Hi Dina, I have described the rubbery goop as ‘rubbery’ based on the quality of the goop. It can be stretched and pulled but still be put back together to form a smooth ball. I have described the rubbery goop in the information above – “Rubbery Goop looks and feels like basic play dough but it is textured differently. It is smooth, soft and slightly stretchy. Moulding it in the hands is very addictive as the texture is delightful. It is so much fun to play with, you can pull the goop apart and roll it back together to form a smooth ball. You can squeeze it and it will squish through your fingers.” I hope this helps and thank you for visiting Learning 4 Kids!
Thanks for this.My son had so much fun!
I am so glad he liked it Indika! Thank you for your comment.
I made this for my preschool class. They loved it. I will also have to admit I love to play with it too 🙂
Lol 🙂 I have to admit too that I loved playing with the gloop as much as the kids. It has such a wonderful texture! Thank you for your comment Dawn.
Hi,
I would like to try this out today and I have a question. If we “create” something could I let it air-dry? Will it become hard as normal clay does? I am pretty sure I have seen somewhere a similar recipe for air-dry clay. It would be amazing if that is possible too. Thanks!
I have never tried to air dry this before with the rubbery goop so I am not really sure how it would work. I have done this before with salt dough though https://www.learning4kids.net/2012/12/09/how-to-make-salt-dough-recipe/ Good luck and let us know how you go with air drying the rubbery goop! 🙂
Hi, I just had a go at making this and it worked like a charm, however, it dries out while we are playing with … Goes crusty on the outside. Does this happen to yours? I wonder if I have overcooked it? We’ve been playing with for about 20 mins.
Hi! Thank you so much for sharing this! 🙂 made it for my Son and it was the easiet thing :))) had less soda in my pantry so had to half the recipe and now glad I did – it makes a lot of goop 😉 wondered if I can flavour it with vanilla or smth (re smell, not taste of course), what do you think? Thanks again from both of us!
Hi Olesia, I am so thrilled that you and your son enjoyed making and playing with the goop. 🙂 I have not added scent the goop before and think it would be a great idea…adding to the sensory experience. I love to hear how it goes! Thanks 🙂
Hi, was so excited to do this with my kids but it turned out so sticky…. Mixture didn’t start to boil – just lumps appeared. Don’t know what we have been doing wrong 🙁 Tried twice