The Many Uses of Corn Starch
Finding creative fun around your Katy household
Corn starch is great for cooking, I suppose. I think it is supposed to be used to thicken soups or something. I don’t use it much in the kitchen, because, admittedly, cooking is not one of my strengths.
However, I keep plenty of corn starch in the pantry at all times. Some days drag on with two busy children, and the days that seem the longest are the ones that we aren’t able to leave the house because we’re waiting to be fever free for 24 hours or because I’ve somehow misplaced the keys to the car… again.
Enter corn starch. Equal parts corn starch and water will make that fabulous stuff that is neither a solid nor a liquid. When you pick it up, it becomes a solid, but when allowed to drip out of your hands, it somehow is liquid again. Some people call it ‘oobleck’ from Dr. Suess’s book, some call it ‘Gak’ after the commercially available stuff. It doesn’t matter much what we call it, my kids love to fling it, grab it, and slime it on our counters and tables. We add a few drops of food coloring and sometimes mix the colors of oobleck to see what happens.
Next up: sidewalk paint. Equal parts corn starch and water with several drops of food coloring create sidewalk chalk that is bright, easy to use, and also ok for little ones who might decide to taste it. I would advise testing the colors first to make sure they wash away easily; the blue paint took a few weeks to rinse away completely last time we made it. (Idea originally from www.skiptomylou.blogspot.com)
My last secret corn starch weapon is bath paints. I use eco-friendly liquid dish detergent (about 1/3 cup) and roughly 1 tablespoon of corn starch. Of course, the food coloring makes all of the fun this time as well. I let the girls mix their own colors and then they hop in the tub and paint each other, the tub, and often my hands and arms as well. We keep the paint out of the grouted areas and primarily on the basin of the tub just in case, but that never seems to spoil the fun.  (Idea originally from www.pepperpaints.com)
Corn starch adds a whole lot of fun to our home. On days where the clock seems to stop, I know it’s time to pull out my secret weapon and unleash the creativity of my girls upon the slow day.  Corn starch to the rescue!
How do you spend long days at home? Post a comment below!
