Rainbow Rice

It's been a while since I've done a blog on anything other than food. I love food. I always intend to blog about something else, but then a delightfully tasty looking meal pops up on Pinterest, my mouth starts to water, and all I can think about is making a new dish, rather than trying anything else. However, I found time to - finally - blog about something else. Rainbow Rice!

Photo from Pinterest

I decided sensory play with my son would be a good activity, plus he could help me make the colored rice. I ended up using vinegar instead of rubbing alcohol, and it didn't end up smelling up the whole house like I thought it might.

I didn't put the rice into ziploc baggies. In my opinion, I didn't need to waste the plastic bags. Instead, I used a tupperware bowl for each of the colors. (1 cup of rice for each color). After we mixed it up a bit, I put the lid on the tupperware and my son got to shake it all up until the color was mixed through.

After it was all mixed, I laid some tin foil on a baking sheet and put the colored rice in it. Then we put it on the porch in the sunshine to dry out.

It took, maybe, an hour (max) for the rice to completely dry out. My poor boy was so excited to use this, but it took us a few days to actually do something with the rice. I couldn't seem to get up the courage to give my son a bowl of rice that could be thrown everywhere...since that seems to be his favorite thing to do. But, eventually we did do something with it.

And here is what I have learned:

1) Use a bigger tupperware container.

2) Put an even bigger pan underneath the tupperware container as the "catch all."

3) Let your child have a blast and make a mess while you close your eyes, cringe and take deep breaths...and then think about taking it outside for more playtime.

4) Be sure it is played with in an area that is easy to clean up...i.e. the kitchen, dining room (somewhere not carpeted) or outdoors (where it will be swept away by the elements eventually).

And there you have it. It was a fun little activity that I don't think we will do again. Until I forget how stressed out I was about this sensory play. Next time, we'll just go to Creative Studio for Kids where my son can play in the pre-made sensory bin and I don't have to worry about cleaning it up. But, if your child isn't as messy as mine, this may be the perfect activity for you and your littles.

PS - I did find another blog (after the fact) that gave some other ideas of things to do with the colored rice: Fill up empty water bottles and seal tight to make colorful shakers, or sprinkle on sticky paper to create mosaic-style artworks. Find out more, by check out this blog. Ok....with that being said, maybe I will try it again in the future.... :)