Rainbow Rice Play!
Have you ever struggled finding a perfect way to make your children busy at home? You bought them all the expensive toys that they wanted but they seem to be looking for something else. The solution is easy! And the best part is that you won’t have to spend because it can actually be found at home. All you need is rice, vinegar, artificial food colouring and zip lock bags.
Rainbow rice! Yes, rainbow rice is the answer. Bright, colourful a bit messy but really fun! It will only take you less than an hour to make several bags of rainbow coloured rice. No need to spend much! Plus, the best thing about it is that you can keep it for years as long as the bags are kept nicely and tightly.
What will you be needing?
- Inexpensive long grain rice
- Vinegar
- Food colouring
- Zip lock bags
What are the steps?
- Pour 4 cups of rice in the zip lock bag.
- Pour 1 cup of vinegar. Note that cups used should be of the same size. (4 cups of rice: 1 cup of vinegar) If you are planning to make more, make the necessary adjustments for the measurement.
- Put 3-5 drops of artificial food colouring. (Drop slowly so you would know whether the food colouring is too dark or too light. You can add more drops or lessen it, depending on the shade you want to achieve.)
- Shake and mix until the colour is evenly spread but make sure the zip lock bag is tight.
- Place on a tray and let it dry for a couple of days.
- Enjoy your rainbow rice!
What are the benefits of rainbow rice sensory play?
- Rainbow rice play encourages children to manipulate and explore materials, building up their fine motor skills and eye-hand coordination.
- This kind of play uses all 5 senses, but tactile sense is mostly used. (sense of touch/feeling) Toddlers and children process information through their senses which makes experience more meaningful.
- Sensory play is unstructured and open-ended type of play which means they can explore all they want without rules or limitations. This will help them with their imaginative, creativity and critical thinking.
- Develops language skills as when they play, they would be experimenting with their language, trying new words and even make different sound effects.
- Rainbow rice by its name comprises different colours which is great for learning colours plus sequence of colours in a rainbow.