Fun Things to do With Toddlers - Candy Cane slime (Ooblek)

Last time we played with corn flour and water it was a big hit, so it was no surprise when this festive version went down a storm. Boris played with it for ages and was totally engaged, just feeling the mixture with his fingers and mixing up the colour.

I filled the bottom of the dish to a few mm thick with corn flour, then added enough water to make the right consistency and some peppermint flavoring for an added sensory experience, then Boris added the food colouring with a little dropper. Such a great activity for my little man, he obviously responds well to this sort of sensory experience so I am going to have a go at making some more types of slime in the future. 

Fun Things to do With Toddlers - Corn Flour and Water

Playing with water and cornflour is such a simple activity, just two parts corn flour to one part water, plus a bit of food colouring for fun and you are all set for a sensory adventure.  It's all about the particles apparently.  Cornflour has large particles which 'float' around in the water, the particles are close together but are still able to slip past each other.  If you move the mixture slowly the particles have time to pass each other so it acts like a liquid, but if you move it quickly the water flows out of the area but the particles of corn flour don't have time to move away so it acts like a solid.

My toddler couldn't give two hoots about how and why cornflour and water act so strangely when mixed together but that didn't stop him from being completely captivated my it's magical properties.

This activity was by far the most engaging activity I have EVER done with my toddler, he was mesmerised by it and sat in his high chair for over half an hour playing (and I enjoyed it too!)

Honestly, so cheap and easy to do, the clean-up was easy because essentially it's just cornflour once the water dried up so I just hoovered it up off the carpet where it spilled and it wiped up a dream off the high chair, didn't take long at all.