A Rainbow for Us

I am ready for Spring...I am tired of the yucky weather. We wanted a Spring project so we made a rainbow! As promised, I wanted to show you an easy project that J and I did the other day. We dyed rice to make a rainbow sensory bin.

First, I bought a large bag of rice as inexpensive as I could find. I knew we weren't eating this rice so the brand didn't matter. J scooped the rice into plastic bags (also the inexpensive ones). I couldn't bear to use my ziplock bags although they probably would have been easier and I wouldn't have had to worry about them popping. But after the project, I would have had to throw them out. You need a new bag for each color. J separated the rice into siz bags. I had her do this using measuring cups.

Then, we added several drops of waterless hand soap and food coloring. I used waterless hand soap because I have yet to find rubbing alcohol here and I knew that the hand soap had alcohol in it. J then shook the bag and mixed the rice with the food coloring. (For extra safety, I placed the first bag into another just in case the first bag broke. I didn't want wet colored rice to go everywhere.)

After the color is transferred onto the rice, we placed it on a tin foil lined cookie sheet (or anything I could find lined with tin foil) to dry. It didn't take long to dry but we left it for a day just to be certain.

We dyed six small bags of rice the colors of the rainbow and we waited patiently for them to dry. I used food coloring from America. I happened to have a package of Neon Food coloring which gave us the great green, blue, purple and pink. I made orange by using red and yellow.

After a day of drying, we put the colored rice into a plastic container to play with it. She loves it. I told her she could mix the colors up but she wants to keep it in a rainbow right now. Not sure how long that will last.

Now, you ask what is a sensory bin? They are all the rage on the preschool blog set. Sensory bins are bins that allow free exploration of the materials inside. They are easy to create and allow lots of creativity. A sensory bin could be as easy as non cooked noodles in a pitcher with cups and spoons to practice pouring and spooning. We have another sensory bin that has mixed beans in it. She uses that to play with measuring cups, bowls, and spoons. Or she will use it to play with her plastic animals.

When J was smaller, I bought some large noodles. I would place a large towel on the floor and give her a bowl, measuring cups, and a pitcher. She spent quite some time pouring the noodles and "measuring" the noodles. After she was done, I would pull up the towel and place the noodles that fell back with the others. We also spent time on our balcony with a bowl full of water (done in warmer weather, of course). Again, I placed a towel underneath because our balcony was tile and when it became wet, it was slippery. This kept her occupied for awhile.



Now, using the sensory bins require supervision. You don't want a baby or toddler to put dried beans in their mouths. Also, you may have some beans/rice fall on the floor. I combat that by leaving a small dustpan/brush by the bin and she knows that she needs to sweep up the fallen items. You could also put an old table cloth underneath it.

I have been drooling over the sensory bins on the internet. Preschool moms are changing out their bins monthly with items that are seasonal from the Dollar Store or Target. I have seen holiday ones, science ones, alphabet ones, and color ones. But, realistically, here that just isn't always possible. I try to find inexpensive ways to fill our bin. The plastic container we use was probably the most expensive item for our sensory bin. We have used noodles, rice, beans, small nuts (given to us by a neighbor and used for fall), un-popped popcorn (farm unit), water, and even salt, which comes in big bags here. You could dye the noodles, salt, and, I heard, the un-popped popcorn. We are planning a potting soil/dirt bin and, hopefully, a sand bin. I do change my items out when I feel like it and I place the old items into ziplock bags to be used again.

I thought you would like an easy project that allows free play and imagination. I am adding links to other sensory bins around the web if you want to try it yourself.

149 Sensory bin ideas - wow

counting coconuts She has sensory bin ideas to drool over, I love her themed ones! She also has some great ideas for preschoolers.

teach preschool has and idea for a sensory "table" using plastic bins. Considering the cost of these bins here, it might not be something you would want to try but you can see her Valentine's bin with colored rice.

copdandsomuchmore has 50 more ideas for a sensory bin.

jadaroo is using dyed pasta in hers as well as a bin with split peas for St. Patrick's Day.

chasingcheerios is using dry pasta of different shapes and sizes for her toddler.