Homemade Silly Putty

I remember when I was a little girl my grandmother gave me a little plastic egg full of the firm squishy stretchy silly putty. I would play for hours rolling it across newspaper to make the print transfer and squeezing it in class when I was bored in class.

It has even been handy for calming sensory overload. Around here sensory play is everything. The kids can’t get enough of homemade sensory toys like the foam Sand. This homemade silly putty is super easy and can be customized for each child.

Homemade silly putty

When it comes to easy-to-make sensory play items are an economical way to provide children with the sensory outlets they need without the high price tag of manufactured products that your kids are going to just mix into a big brown blob before they are done.

This project is so simple it takes only two ingredients and you can customize it to fit your child’s preferences and needs. This one is a blue tropical one that is perfect to go with our beach unit study.

You can make it dryer for your sensory avoider or sticky and gooey to fit your sensory seeker, change the color and fragrance and everything in between and the best part is it is super easy to clean up with a quick vacuum. As a mom of many, that is high on my requirements for messy play or it goes outside requirements for messy play or it goes outside.

You will need 1/2 cup of cornstarch
Liquid soap of choice this allows you to choose the color and fragrance. You can use hand soap, dish detergent, or shampoo. We used blue coconut-scented shampoo.

Mix your choice of liquid soap into the cornstarch start with just a bit and mix. Add more mixing well until you get your desired thickness. I prefer firm so it can be squeezed and mashed. By adding more soap you can work your way to a more oobleck consistency. Once your kids understand this they can mix up a batch all on their own.