Cornflour Play

Emmy loves getting messy and although it is indeed Summer is has been a wet few days so I decided to try out one of our Messier activities – Cornflour Play.

This really is a simple activity with few ingredients needed:

Cornflour
Water
Food colouring

It is also very messy so you may like to be prepared with:

Floor/table covering – wipe clean is best
Warm soapy water and a towel

I prepared by covering my kitchen floor with a plastic sheet and covering Emmy with a painting apron. I then mixed up some cornflour with a little water just like you would with icing sugar and water (a little water at time), I then added a few drops of food colouring. I made up some Blue and Yellow, set up Emmy’s toy tea set and let her play!

The great thing about this activity is that is takes only minutes to prepare so no waiting around getting bored while you get it all ready. You can spread it over the table or as I have done add to bowls, add a few utensils and let your child explore the fun.

Although this looks extremely messy it really isn’t as bad as it seems as when the cornflour is left it goes hard and can be scraped up again, however the play is endless as the warmth of your hands will turn the Cornflour to gloopy liquid again (Just like icing before it sets). It really is great fun as you can see.

Emmy enjoyed trying to roll it in her hands, warming it up and seeing it flow from bowl to bowl and scraping it up again when it had set.

To clear up I’d suggest you don’t wash this down the sink as it could set and block the drains, instead use a knife and scrap into the bin, then wash down the surfaces with hot soapy water, it may take a few wipe downs as it tends to leave a white dusty residue for a little while.

I challenge you not to keep playing with this yourselves! It is so much fun running your nails/fingers through and watching it solidify again.