Make a colorful fun bag for your toddler to play with and investigate. Mix 1 cup of cornstarch, a half cup of sugar and 4 cups of water, and stir in a pan over medium heat until the mixture thickens; then let it cool. Divide the mixture and add a different tone of food coloring to each half. Combine the mixture in a zip-seal bag and secure the seal with duct tape.
Allow your child's imagination to run wild with simple-to-make and safe finger paint. Simply spread corn syrup onto a piece of poster board, and add some drops of food coloring in various hues. Play along with the toddler and show her how to make designs with the paint. Note that it may take a couple of days for the food coloring stains to fade from your child's fingers, according to “The Toddler's Busy Book.”
Spark your child's creative impulses by dying several different types of pasta in multiple colors. Make sure to include blue or red bow tie pasta pieces, some dark-colored wavy pasta for mustaches, some red, yellow and brown noodle pasta for hair and some pink and green spiral pasta for other features. Assist the child, and help him draw faces with crayons, and then add on the died pasta features. You may want to glue them on for a permanent keepsake.
Make breakfast more interesting with rainbow toast is another idea from “The Toddler's Busy Book.” Mix food coloring with 2 tablespoons of milk, and paint it on the bread. Then pop it in the toaster and add butter for a yummy and colorful meal. You can mix various colors to actually paint a rainbow, or paint a face with the assistance of your toddler. Note that you might limit this activity to special occasions, as NPR reports that food coloring intake has been tied with anxiety in children.