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Sensory Play with Magic Muck

February 18, 2013 by Selena Robinson 9 Comments

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You ever have one of those days when the kids are just bouncing off the walls but it’s too cold to go outside and you’re too broke to go anywhere else? Yeah, that was us one day last week. Plus, Piglet was nursing constantly and I was just exhausted and desperate for something for the kids to do. As a last resort, I went rummaging through our homeschool closet for a quick activity that wouldn’t be too messy or expensive.

Then I remembered the book: The Ultimate Book of Kid Concoctions: More Than 65 Wacky, Wild & Crazy Concoctions.

I got this over a year ago, but I think we’d only made one thing from it before last week. (I’m really awful about that.) Anyway, I looked through it and ah-ha! Magic Muck sounded like a perfect time-filler, especially since our kids are extreme sensory seekers.

What is Magic Muck, you ask? It also goes by the name “Oobleck“, so you’ve probably heard of it before. It’s just cornstarch, water, and a bit of food coloring. But, the neat thing about it is that the mixture behaves differently, depending on how much pressure you apply. When you initially touch it in the bowl, it feels firm, but when you pick it up and squeeze it, it runs through your fingers like a liquid. Very cool.

We laid down some packing paper and stood at the table to feel it. Instead of giving each child his or her own bowl of it, I did a communal bowl to encourage everyone to stand still. I’m sure that if all the kids had a bowl, I would still be cleaning Muck off the walls a week later.

See how the texture looks firm in the bowl, but runny off of Tigger’s hand?

The funny thing about sensory play is that you never know how the kids will respond. Tigger and Pooh loved it. In fact, they’ve been asking to do it again every day since. Roo? Not so much. I brought him a bowl of water to rinse his hands in and he asked if he could just put his hands in that for play instead. Which he did happily for over 20 minutes.

To each his own…

Have you used sensory play with your kids? We’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments. Keep on learning!

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Filed Under: Art Appreciation, PreK Homeschooling, Sensory Activities

Comments

  1. Ticia says

    February 18, 2013 at 2:28 pm

    I got a good hour of outside play from this one time and the kids went crazy! I just dumped a box of corn starch and water and let them have at it.

    Reply
    • Selena Robinson says

      February 20, 2013 at 3:48 am

      Oooh, I should definitely do this outside! Not until the weather gets warmer, though…lol.

      Reply
  2. Erika says

    February 18, 2013 at 4:34 pm

    That looks like wonderful, messy fun! I think I may need to track down that book 🙂

    Reply
    • Selena Robinson says

      February 20, 2013 at 3:49 am

      See the messiness is where I get uncomfortable…lol. I cannot stand cleaning up a mess. I should probably get over that, huh? 🙂

      Reply
  3. monstersed says

    February 19, 2013 at 9:10 am

    My kids LOVE messy play days. What an interesting book. I need to go find that one 🙂

    Reply
    • Selena Robinson says

      February 20, 2013 at 3:50 am

      It’s a great book. And nearly all the recipes are made from basic household staples, which makes most of the activities super cheap too!

      Reply
  4. Kids Creative Chaos says

    March 15, 2013 at 6:56 pm

    We love that book! So much fun. I have one that doesn’t like to get his hands messy too 🙂

    Reply
    • Selena@lookwerelearning says

      March 17, 2013 at 6:53 pm

      The book is great! We just need to do more of the activities in it…lol.

      Reply
  5. sarah says

    August 14, 2013 at 7:23 am

    Thanks for linking this up last week. I can’t wait to give it a try. We love sensory play. I would love for you to stop by again this week too! The link is live!

    Reply

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Hi! I'm Selena, a veteran teacher and homeschool mom to four. I'm so glad you're here!
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