Whether you are a toddler mom or a primary teacher, a colorful sensory bin can be a fun way to engage kids in some learning opportunities!
And since we are all so dang busy, it’s a good thing this “recipe” is a quick one!
Here’s what you’ll need to make your sensory rice bin:
Sterilite Bin
Rice
Vinegar
Food Coloring
Large Ziploc Baggies
First, pour the rice into your baggie. Leave enough room so you can shake the bag up – I ended up splitting my 2 bags of rice into 8 baggies!
Next, add about a tablespoon of vinegar to each baggie.
Then, add your food coloring – the more generous you are with the food coloring, the brighter your rice will be!
Lastly, SHAKE IT UP! But do it gently… one of my baggies sprang a leak and it wasn’t pretty 🙂
If you are finding that the color isn’t spreading, add a few more drops of vinegar.
I left the baggies open and let them sit to dry for a few hours before dumping them all in my sterilite container.
Now that you have the sensory rice bin… what in the world will you do with it?! I have a few ideas for you!
If you are a teacher-mama like me, my 2.5 year old son *loves* when I take a bunch of the Target mini-erasers and “hide” them… he spends 45 minutes digging through the bin looking for them. Check out this Teacher-Mama line of resources that I’ve created if you’d like more ideas for your own toddler!
If you are a teacher, you can literally put any of your manipulatives in this bin to add some engagement to a center or activity.
What could you use this bin for at home or school? I’d love to hear your ideas! Talk to you soon 🙂