My blogging pursuits led me to become a part of a group called Team Mom. Team Mom is a division of Child’s Play Communications. The members of Team Mom are given opportunities to test fun products geared toward children. It is an honor to be a part of the group. My participation led me to the opportunity to try out Gak and Floam from Nickelodeon. I have used Floam with my kids before but we have not tried Gak. The kids were super excited to give it a try. They ended up loving it.
At any rate, I realized someone about Gak that I thought was so useful that I wanted to share it with other parents of fidgety preschoolers. Since Gak comes in its own airtight portable container it is perfect for bringing on the go. Gak is a stretchable, squeezable, pliable, substance that children love to play with. It does not form into objects like clay. It is basically for squeezing, stretching and twisting. It comes out sticky but is not terribly messy. A child can find a way to make anything a mess so always be careful. However, the substance is so much fun to play with that fidgety preschoolers will sit still playing with Gak for quite some time. You may not want to bring it everywhere but where you can bring it you will be grateful. I have a little one who never wants to sit still and another who fears boredom more than the boogie man. So, bringing it to grandma’s house or during baseball practice for my older child, it’s great. Again, be careful. While it does not stain (for the most part) and doesn’t stick to many things but itself, it can is not fool proof.
Here is a great recipe for homemade gak!
GAK (by A to Z’s Home’s Cool Homeschooling)
Ingredients:
1 cup Elmer’s glue
food coloring, your choice of color (optional: coloring can stain!)
1 cup liquid starch
Directions
Pour glue and coloring in plastic container.
Stir until color is thoroughly mixed in.
Add starch a little at a time, stirring with a spoon or kneading with your fingers as mixture thickens.
Keep stirring until mixture holds together like putty.