Riley has a new favorite sensory tray, and it is colored rice! I think she found this experience to be therapeutic and relaxing. So, if you’ve had a rough day, whip yourself up a batch of colored rice (maybe add some essential oils for some aroma therapy), and play in the sensory tray with your kiddos.
Materials
- 1 bag of rice (I picked up one of those extra large bags of rice. My husband was wondering what I was thinking haha)
- Food Coloring
- Vinegar
- Essential oils (optional)
- Zip close plastic bags
- Parchment paper
Directions
- Divide the rice into the different plastic bags. You want to use as many bags as you will colors.
- Add the food coloring to each bag. I did purple (turned more indigo), green, blue, and pink.
- Add a splash of vinegar to each bag.
- Seal tightly and shake to spread the color. This is a great job for older kiddos to help with. If you want to add essential oils for smell as well, add a few drops to each bag before sealing and shaking. This would make for a great calming bedtime activity. Lavender, chamomile, or orange can be soothing scents.
- Once each bag is fully colored, spread the rice out onto parchment paper to dry.
I prepared this the night before and left to dry overnight. This can be stored in zip close plastic bags for multiple uses.
Set up
I always lay down a large plastic table cloth that I have folded in half for easy clean up with sensory activities. I also taped the edges down with painters’ tape because I found that Riley enjoyed lifting the table cloth up, which would spread the mess all over the floor. I poured the rice into a 12 x 17” jelly roll pan because it was the largest pan I had to fit all the rice I made! I set out kitchen utensils- a rubber spoon, rubber scrapper, and a slotted spoon. Now it’s time to play!
Riley's experience
Riley loved just running her hands back and forth through the rice. She did pick up the kitchen utensils to push the rice around, but she preferred running her hands through it instead. She would pick up big handfuls and let the it fall through her fingers. She buried her hands in the rice and quickly pulled them out. I was surprised that she didn’t once try to sample the rice as she did with the pasta sensory trays. Riley was entertained for a good 30 minutes and would have loved to continue, but it was time to clean up.
Age modifications
This is a great activity for kids of all ages. For younger babies who are not yet sitting, I would recommend making this a sensory bottle activity for baby to explore. Let baby roll, shake, turn, and tip the bottle to hear and see the rice move.
For babies who are able to sit, let them explore the rice as Riley did in a sensory tray. Remember as with all baby activities, this should be closely supervised, especially for babies who still are putting things into their mouths.
For toddlers and older kiddos, put this in a sensory table, and add in their toys or other objects for them to find. Add essential oils and talk about the smell. Do they like the smell? Does it remind them of anything? How does the smell make them feel? Choosing calming scents would make this a soothing bedtime activity. This could help transition children from the excitement of the day to the calm and quietness that comes with bedtime. Play some soft, soothing music in background, and allow your child to quietly play. Offer scoops, bottles, jars, and spoons for kids to use as they play.
Benefits
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Physical development: Riley worked her arm, hands, and finger muscles as she ran her hands through the rice, and grabbed handfuls of it.
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Language development: Riley was exposed to new vocabulary as I narrated her experience. She heard words such as rice, green, blue, purple/indigo, pink, small, bumpy, soothing, open, shut.
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Cognitive development: As more senses are involved, more neural pathways and connections are being formed.
Links to materials
