There are lots of posts about using play dough in therapy so I thought I would write about using flubber instead. You can use flubber for many of the same functions as play dough such as using them for smash mats. Here are some reasons I like to change it up and use flubber every once in a while.
1. It is a nice change from using play dough. I love play dough but using it all the time can make it feel stale (I work with 2-4 year olds, so I use play dough/flubber a lot). Keeping the same toys but changing the medium from play dough to flubber often changes how the children interact with the toys.
3. If you have children who are sensitive to textures this is a great way to incorporate some OT therapy goals into yours. As well it is great for cutting, another way of incorporating OT goals into therapy.
4. Kids who like to explore play dough by eating it or licking it, tend to do that a lot less with flubber.
5. Before last year, I would have said that it was easier to clean up than play dough. It generally is. Flubber tends not to get ground into shoes, carpet etc… It is also a bit easier to pull out of toys, when a child has stuffed it into a hole. Last year, a group of children liked to “shred” it and the little balls were found all over the floor. You could not really sweep them up so I was on my hands and knees picking up little bits of flubber.
Here is the recipe I use to make flubber. There are other recipes that use liquid starch. I haven’t tried them as you can’t get liquid starch easily in Canada.
Do you use flubber in therapy?
