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Reviving Soapy Goop (Dry Goop Sensory Bin)

Jul 15, 20138,810 views
Sensory bins
Sensory Activities: Reviving soapy goop Save
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by TurkeyMom in Sensory bins

Ages2–6 yrs
Prep24 hr 10 min
Activity30 min
Leveleasy
MessMedium
Works for1:1 · Small group

Leave a tub of sudsy cornstarch goop to dry for a day, then crumble it into a fragrant, cloud-dough-like powder for scooping, molding and pretend play. It is a fun way to talk about wet and dry and how matter changes.

⚠️ Safety first

  • This goop contains soap. It is not taste-safe, so don't let kids mouth or eat it, and supervise closely with toddlers.
  • Keep soapy powder away from eyes. Rinse with water if it gets in, and wash hands after play.
  • Dry cornstarch powder can get dusty. Scoop gently and avoid blowing or tossing it near faces.
  • Sprinkles are food, but once they are mixed into soapy goop they are no longer safe to eat.
  • Small toy cars and sprinkles can be choking hazards for young toddlers. Supervise at all times.

Before the kids arrive

  • Make and play with the sudsy goop (see the Sudsy Goop sensory activity post).
  • Leave the goop in its tub to dry for a day.

Steps

  1. Scrape the dried goop off the tub and crumble it into a soft, powdery, cloud-dough-like texture.

  2. Squeeze handfuls of the powder together to make balls.

  3. Set out ice cream scoops, cups and spoons in the tub.

  4. Pack the ice cream scoops with goop to make shapes.

  5. Turn the scoops out to make ice cream 'cookies'.

  6. Smash the cookies with a spoon.

  7. Pack a cup with goop and flip it over to make a 'flipped cupcake'.

  8. Decorate the cupcakes with sprinkles.

  9. Drive toy cars around the tub.

  10. With older kids, talk about how the wet goop turned dry and how matter changes.

Tips

  • Don't toss your goop after play! I left the tub to dry for a day and found a wonderful, still-fragrant powdered cornstarch with a cloud-dough-like texture.from the author
  • It's just cornstarch with a bit of soap and a little moisture, so it behaves like cloud dough and you can make balls out of it.from the author
  • If the child is older, this is a good opportunity to show dry vs. wet and change of matter.from the author
  • Expect fast play: my toddler explored at lightning speed. She kept asking, 'Is this oobleck, mommy? It doesn't look like it.'from the author

Make it your own

  • Run it as a two-day sequence: sudsy goop on day one, then 'life after goop' dry play on day two.

The story behind it

By TurkeyMom · July 2013
goop1
I left the goop tub to dry for a day and found this wonderful, still fragrant, powdered cornstarch with a cloud dough like texture. I was able to make balls out of it.
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Reviving Soapy Goop (Dry Goop Sensory Bin): the original post

Yesterday we shared our fun sudsy goop sensory activity. If you missed that one, check that out first. I left the goop tub to dry for a day and when I went back I found this wonderful, still fragrant, powdered cornstarch with a cloud dough like texture. I had to scrap off the tub and kind of disintegrate them a bit. The result was a fabulous sensory element. This is just cornstarch with a bit of soap and little moisture so it behaved like cloud dough which was oh- so fun I was able to make balls out of it and my toddler was very happy to explore in her oobleck bin. She kept asking over and again, “is this oobleck mommy? It doesn’t look like it. If the child is older, this is a good opportunity to show dry/ wet and change of matter.

goop1 I set out ice cream scoops, cups and spoons for a traditional sensory bin exploration. We made shapes using ice cream scoops 1 I made the ice cream cookies.

sensory goop and she smashed them.

scoops of dry goop We had a fun time making “flipped cupcakes” using the cups I set out. cupcakes and goop and she decorated them with sprinkles.

dry goop and drove cars around in the tub

cars and goop All the pictures are of the sensory bin itself since the pictures of my daughter playing are supremely blurred! She was exploring at lightning speed! My toddler adores sensory activities in general and this one was no exception. Both the sudsy oobleck sensory activity and the “life after goop” sensory activity was right up her alley. Hope you and your kids try sudsy goop and dry goop fun. If you do come back and share your photos on our Facebook wall! For more sensory activities ideas visit our category page. For the original soap goop click on the image.

sensory activities with goop

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