My daughter loves her sensory bin. For these of you who don’t know, sensory bins are bins or containers crammed with issues which might be enjoyable to the touch and really feel, like sand, raw beans, rice, pom poms, and extra.
Then, you give your baby a bunch of scoops and bowls and allow them to dig/kind/squish/pour their manner by means of the totally different textures.
I had been utilizing raw white rice for Lola’s sensory play, however then I noticed that you could dye the rice enjoyable colours, and fairly shortly I knew it was time to make rainbow rice!
There are many methods to dye the rice, however I went with a brilliant fast model (solely takes 5 minutes to combine up!) that lasts the longest, so I’ll present you what I did.
Provides:
-1 cup of white raw rice
-1 teaspoon white vinegar
-food coloring (gel or common)
–wax paper
-plastic baggie
Step One. Add 1 cup of raw rice to a small plastic baggie and add a number of drops of meals coloring to the bag. If utilizing gel coloring, you’ll solely want a tiny bit.
Step Two. Add 1 teaspoon of white vinegar to the bag, seal the highest, and shake up the bag to combine the colour across the rice.
Step Three. When the colour is evenly blended, dump it out onto a bit of wax paper, unfold it out thinly, and let it dry.

How Lengthy Does The Rice Take to Dry?
The rice will really feel dry in beneath an hour, however you can too wait till the subsequent day to make use of it.
I blended it round a number of instances with my arms to verify it was good and dry to keep away from molding earlier than storing it in a container.
Can I Make Rainbow Rice With out Vinegar?
You may make rainbow rice by skipping the vinegar and including a number of drops of paint to the bag as a substitute of the meals coloring. However the addition of the vinegar helps protect the rice and retains it from getting moldy longer.
I didn’t actually discover a odor of vinegar as soon as the rice was dry (and I’ve a reasonably delicate nostril), if you’re questioning about that.
It additionally looks like the paint technique coats the rice in a extra opaque manner whereas the dye seems to be a bit extra translucent, in order that’s additionally a visible choice.
How Do I Retailer Rainbow Rice?
You’ll be able to put your rainbow rice in a sensory bin like this whenever you wish to play with it after which preserve it in an hermetic container when not in use to protect the lifespan.
I do know some folks have gotten years of use from one batch, so it’s attainable to maintain it for a very long time. Can’t wait to make use of this rice for plenty of enjoyable afternoons! xo. Laura
P.S. Try 100 Actions to Do with Youngsters for extra concepts!
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Get the How-To
make rainbow rice for a sensory bin
Directions
-
Add 1 cup of raw rice to a small plastic baggie and add a number of drops of meals coloring to the bag. If utilizing gel coloring, you’ll solely want a tiny bit.
-
Add 1 teaspoon of white vinegar to the bag, seal the highest, and shake up the bag to combine the colour across the rice.
-
When the colour is evenly blended, dump it out onto a bit of wax paper, unfold it out thinly, and let it dry. The rice will really feel dry in beneath an hour, however you can too wait till the subsequent day to make use of it.
-
Hold your rice in an hermetic container when not in use to protect the lifespan. I do know some folks have gotten years of use from one batch, so it’s attainable to maintain it for a very long time!
Notes
I didn’t actually discover a odor of vinegar as soon as the rice was dry (and I’ve a reasonably delicate nostril), if you’re questioning about that.
It additionally looks like the paint technique coats the rice in a extra opaque manner whereas the dye seems to be a bit extra translucent, in order that’s additionally a visible choice.