Today is the last day of the Fall into Sensory PLAY series I have been doing with Crystal from Growing a Jeweled Rose. For the past few weeks we have been sharing fun ideas for Fall themed sensory play. We played with Scented Shaving Cream Pumpkin Pie and Pumpkin Slime and Apple Volcanoes. We also did some fun art activities such as Apple Bowling Art, Pine Cone Pour Painting and Pine Cone Splatter Art. Today I will be sharing a simple Halloween Gak recipe that you can turn into fun pumpkins and Crystal will be showing you how to make Flying Ghost Rockets.
If you would like to purchase the supplies we used for this Fall activity, affiliate links are provided below.
For this Halloween Gak activity you will need:
- Borax, 1 teaspoon
- Two bottles of white glue
- 1 cup of warm water
- Neon orange food coloring
- Green and black pipe cleaners
- Scissors
- Googly eyes
- Popsicle sticks
To create your Halloween Gak, pour two bottles of white glue into a large bowl. Fill the bottles with warm water, shake them and pour that water into the bowl along with the glue.
Add orange food coloring. We used neon orange gel food coloring because I wanted my orange gak to be super bright. We used almost half a tube of food coloring to achieve our bright orange color.
Dissolve 1 teaspoon of Borax into 1/2 cup of warm water. Pour into the glue and food coloring mixture and stir until the gak comes together.
My kids had the best time mixing up the Halloween gak.
And playing with it afterward.
Gak is such a fun sensory material. It keeps stretching and changing shape even as you are holding it.
We explored the gak for a while before adding some items to it.
I set up a tray with some Halloween gak, googly eyes, Popsicle sticks and some cut up green and black pipe cleaners.
My kids used these items to create Halloween pumpkins.
With the same supplies a child could also make some haunted pumpkins or a monster with many googly eyes.
A simple bend of a pipe cleaner changes the pumpkin’s emotions.
Add some Popsicle sticks to make pumpkin men! When the kids are done playing, remove the extra items and store the gak in zip top bag. We have had ours for a few weeks now and it still provides lots of sensory fun.
Please supervise kids when working with borax and the small items in this activity. If your child still puts things in their mouths, this is not for them. You know your child best so use your parental discretion with any activity.
Thank you to Crystal for the fun and inspiration! I had a blast these past few weeks and hope you all did too. Head on over to Growing a Jeweled Rose and check out Flying Ghost Rockets.
More Fall into Sensory PLAY:
JDaniel4's Mom says
This is super cute! I love the nose on the pumpkin.
Annette Belnap- Tips from a Typical Mom says
SO cute! I love the pumpkins arms and legs! I'd love for you to come share this at our Pinning for Play link party!
Stephanie Mass says
I love this idea. I have 2 questions for you. Did the dye you used stain the hands and how much did one batch make i was thinking it would be fun to make in a class
Christina Negron says
I love this i can not wait to try this with my girls 🙂 tysm for your tutorial! Btw your daughters are just darling.
Christina Negron says
Thank you for this idea. I will be doing this with my girls soon. Btw your daughters are just darling and i love how involved you are with your children.
Anna says
Love their creations! Thanks so much for sharing this tutorial at After School!
Jennifer says
Please parents, know that borax is poison to your children! It takes less than 1/2 tsp to kill a small child. My son ate some similar slime I made using borax and we ended up in the hospital. He was very sick. Do yourself a favor and throw the stuff out. Just because borax is "natural" does not mean it is safe. I was sitting side by side with my almost 4 year old. It takes less than a second for them to put this stuff in their mouths. Keep safe!
Vicky @ Mess For Less says
Thanks for your input Jennifer. I have just the thing for you. One of my favorite bloggers created an edible gak recipe that I think you will love. Here is the link – http://www.funathomewithkids.com/2013/10/edible-slime-or-gak-chemical-and-borax.html Enjoy!