How to Make Sensory Rice

Sensory rice offers a fascinating tactile experience for kids of all ages. Making sensory rice is a simple and easy process that can provide hours of educational and entertaining playtime. In this blog, we will guide you through the steps to create your own sensory rice and explore the endless possibilities it offers:

Materials Needed:

• Rice (white or brown)
• Food coloring or liquid watercolors
• Vinegar
• Ziplock bags or airtight containers
• Plastic trays or large shallow containers

HOW TO MAKE:

1. Divide the rice into separate bowls or ziplock bags, depending on the number of colors you want to create

2. Add a few drops of food coloring or liquid watercolors to each bag or bowl.

3. Add a splash of vinegar to each bag or bowl, as it helps the dye adhere to the rice more effectively. 

4. Seal the bags or cover the bowls, and then gently shake or stir to distribute the color evenly. For a stronger color, leave the rice in the dye for a longer period.

5. Spread the dyed rice out on a tray or a sheet of parchment paper to dry for a few hours. 

HOW TO PLAY: 

1. Sensory Tray

We recommend trays around 20-30cm wide (the Kmart Anko one is great!) so the rice will spread fairly evenly throughout the tray and there is enough room to create a sensory scene!

2. Add Toys

The best toys are hollow ones which allow kids to scoop and build sculptures with the rice. A mix of toys is always good to help build shape recognition!

3. Activities

Here are a bunch of ideas that you can try with your little one: 

- Make shapes out of the rice (use their index finder to write their name or draw pictures) 

- Bury a toy under the rice 

- Build sculptures out of the rice 

- Collect all the rice into bowls (or another container)

- Separate the colours 

4. Use the rice in our Calm Down Bottle!

You can use the rice in our Calm Down Bottles to make a sensory shaker for your little one! Add some glitter and some fun little inserts to make it more unique to your child's interests! 

5. Separate the colours!

There are various colours in both of our sensory rice packs! Separating colours can help your little one learn all the colours of the rainbow!