Rainbow Rice

With two toddlers in the house as well as a six year old, I thought it would be a great time to introduce the children to the wonderful world of sensory bins! In case you are wondering, sensory bins are containers filled with various tactile experiences. They can include sand, water, dried beans, pebbles, dirt, etc. The sky is the limit! They are valuable ways of letting children practice skills such as scooping, measuring, sifting, mixing, and pouring, and they provide children with opportunities to experience and gain a better understanding of their bodies' senses including touch, smell, sight, sound, etc.

So, with all of that great stuff in mind, I set to work creating a filler for our very first sensory bin! RAINBOW RICE! The entire process was ridiculously simple, and the finished product will keep for years when properly stored...

1.) First, I measured out one cup of uncooked rice (I used brown rice since it is what we have, but white would have worked just as well) and poured it into a large jar (think spaghetti sauce-sized).

2.) Next, I added 1 teaspoon of vinegar to the jar (to set the color) followed by several drops of food coloring (the more drops you add, the more vibrant the color).

3.) Then, I tightened the lid onto the jar and shook it all up, nice and good! 

4.) When I could see that the rice was evenly colored to my satisfaction, I poured it all out into a large, foil baking pan. Any baking sheet or tray would have worked, but we have about eleventy-billion of the foil pans from Costco. 

5.) I repeated steps one through four until I had a variety of colored rice. After an hour or two, when the rice was dry, I poured all of the colors together and gave it a good mix. VOILA! RAINBOW RICE! 

Easy-peezy to make, and I anticipate my boys are going to have a blast with it. Go ahead....give it a try!