Those all sound really fun!! We haven't done anything like that recently but have done most of them at some point or another. Cornstarch "magic" is always so cool!

I have the name brand kinetic sand and than some pink stuff from "Showcase"...the kinetic sand is definitely the best out of the 2 but the no name brand isn't as bad as I thought it would be. I was going to make my own but ended up just buying it as I couldn't find nice clean cheap sand! haha. The kids really really like it and I love how easy it is to clean up. The no name brand gets a little "sticky" if played with too much though and is a bit harder to clean up but still nothing major.

I have a recipe for homemade gak that works really well. I will see if I can find it on my pinterest board, if not I know I have it written downstairs.