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.

Mindbomb Monday

In the 1970's the founders of Greenpeace came up with the idea of using electronic media to communicate revolutionary ideas, they came up with the tactic "mindbomb" whereby they would use simple images, delivered by the media, that would "explode in people's minds" and create a new understanding of the world.
On some Mondays I hope to share an image that might be considered a "mindbomb" that could get people thinking throughout the week ahead.  I won't include any words with the image as I hope the image alone will speak for itself.  Sometimes I will use images found online, other times it will be my own photographs and they will reflect something that has spoken to me from the past week.  It might be shocking, inspiring, confrontational or uplifting.
If you would like to join in please share your "mindbomb" in a comment.

Making the Switch to Cloth

When I was pregnant with Boris I was sure I wanted to have a go with cloth nappies.  Without knowing all that much about cloth nappies I bought a couple of packs of pre-folds in newborn size and a starter set.  The brand I purchased had an absorbent booster that was folded and placed inside a waterproof wrap. My mum also bought me a single Tots Bots all-in-one nappy.  I also bought some bio-degradable disposable nappies to use in case I didn't get along with the cloth.

When Boris was born I found the experience of being a new mum totally overwhelming, I had this little human who needed me all the time, there was no schedule, no order, just a wriggly, hungry, pooping machine.  I gave my cloth nappies a go, but Boris wriggled all over the shop and I couldn't get the booster to be in the right place and I found I was having to wash the waterproof outers with every nappy change because the cotton trim on the edge would be wet with wee, so I would soon run out of nappies.  I naturally gravitated towards the disposables, they were so much easier to put on and they were just one less thing to worry about compared to the faff of the washables.

Two and a bit years down the line and I am realising that I am throwing away two massive bags worth of disposable, urine and poo filled nappies every week, they stank and I felt awful about the waste.  I knew I wasn't going to get along with the pre-folds so dug out the one Tots Bots that my mum had bought and I gave it a go.  What a revelation! It was just as easy to put on as a disposable, just as absorbent, soft, chemical free and no waste!

I set about gathering Tots Bots nappies, bought a couple more new and a bunch second hand, so gradually began to use less disposables.  For me, that was the key to making the switch - it was gradual, so I got used to the differences, I got used to the extra washing, (although I am still getting used to knowing when the boys have pooed.  The washables hold poos in really well!)

I was all set to buy some more Tots Bots when a friend said she was selling her birth to potty set.  It wasn't Tots Bots but I felt I could get to grips with it; this time a waterproof wrap with pop-in inserts (no movement when trying to put them on a wriggly baby's bottom) So I suddenly had plenty of nappies.

We are currently still using disposables at night. And still working out how to scrape sloppy poo off washable liners, but definitely getting there.  I am so happy to not be throwing away such a vast about of not-recyclable material and get a very satisfied feeling seeing them all hanging happily to dry on the washing line in all their fluffy glory.

Do you use cloth? Thinking about switching? here are a few things I have learnt about cloth:

1. Man-made materials dry much quicker than natural materials,
2. It's harder to tell when a cloth nappy is full so I avoid leeks by changing them regularly rather than waiting,
3. The sun bleaches out discolouration,
4. Waking a baby who sleeps through the night to change his nappy is a bad thing,
5. Essential oils make nappies smell better.