The Boys and the Oobleck

It is rainy season here in Jakarta. What do you do with kids when it is too yucky to play outside? Normally I would just let the kids play in the rain and hose them off when they came back inside, but Friday we had scary, cracky, LOUD thunder. It is unlike any thunder I have ever heard before moving here. No one was going outside. I wasn’t even happy about them watching the lightening out the window. That thunder just sounded evil.

What to do to entertain the kids? Hmmm.... I dusted off the thinking cap. I remembered way back when, in another decade, another century even (back in the 20th century) when I was a teacher I used to read books to introduce activities. I remembered one that was always a hit, especially with boys. Oobleck!

So I read “Bartholomew and the Oobleck” by Dr. Suess to the boys. (Good thing I shipped all the kids books.) Then we made Oobleck. The boys really enjoyed playing with the Oobleck. Oobleck is weird. It pours like a liquid, but will break when you hit it, then it will flow back together again. It’s gross looking, messy, and feels disgusting! They had a blast.

Oobleck:

1 ½ cups corn starch
1 cup water
food coloring ( it is green in the book so I went with green)

Mix everything together. Pour it onto a cookie sheet or into a large plastic container and let the kids have at fun.

*If they spill some don’t worry. Wipe up the worst, then let it dry. It will sweep right up.
**DON'T pour it down the drain! Just don’t! Trust me.
*** Oobleck will keep for several days in the fridge. Fun, fun, and more fun.