COLORFUL Sensory Rice

We are pretty big on encouraging sensory play in our house.  My 2yr old daughter has albinism.  She is visually impaired, so I try to find ways to get creative with our sensory play and arts and crafts time.  One thing she is really getting into is playing with dry rice.  By making it bright and colorful, it is easier for her to see and manipulate with tools.

Sensory Rice

1c white rice

1tbsp white vinegar

4 drops food coloring (more or less depending on how intense you want the coloring to be)

This is a great recipe to have your kids help with!

I used sandwich sized plastic baggies (the kind that seal, not the fold and tuck baggies).  They are the perfect size for 1 cup of rice.  If you are making a larger batch of one color, use a bigger bag.

This recipe is very easy.  Place rice in the bag.  Add the vinegar, then the food coloring.  Close the bag and make sure it is sealed properly.  Then you can shake it.  Make sure all the rice has been covered by the vinegar/food coloring mixture.  Once it is covered, lay it out on a cooking sheet to dry.  Make sure to spread out the rice so it dries faster.  It will take about an hour to dry, longer if you use more rice. 

We made 4 cups total and used 1 cup of rice for each color (red, blue, green, and yellow).  You can keep the colors separate, or mix them all together for rainbow rice.  You can use it to make a sensory sandbox, or use it in place of glitter or sand in arts and craft projects.  The best part about this recipe that this is an edible recipe.  You can dye your rice and use it to make some creative, kid friendly, rice recipes.  Follow the instructions for dying it, and once it is dry store it in an air tight container.  Cook as per the instructions on the original bag of rice.  Obviously if you plan on eating it, don’t let your kids place with it before you cook it.