Rainbow Rice & Garden Sensory Play

Rice has been used in sensory play in preschools and kindergartens for ages but coloring rice takes it up a notch to exciting! Using liquid watercolors to color the rice makes for vibrant colors that are inviting to young children. This Rainbow Rice Sensory Play incorporates a gardening theme along with rainbow colors, making it the perfect spring sensory bin for preschoolers.

Rainbow Rice Sensory Play

This morning we made rainbow rice. I measured out the rice (4 cups) and put it in a Ziploc bag with about 2T of food coloring or a few drops of liquid watercolors.  The kids helped me mix the rice in the bags to spread the color. We put them on pans to dry in the sun. The rainbow rice dried incredibly fast.

I loved this book & garden themed sensory play idea from Playful Learning. Planting a Rainbow is a new book to me and my group. I immediately bought it on Amazon. What a great color book!

I have a regular sensory table but I like using this under the bed storage bin for a sensory bin because it’s so portable. It can be set on a table or on the floor. It can be used indoors or outdoors. Plus, it’s a little bigger for more kids to use at the same time.

I found all these gardening and play toys at Michaels, mostly in the dollar section. I buy a lot of dollar store items and it sure adds it up fast!

The child-sized gardening gloves were especially a hit. Love this activity!

More Rainbow Activities for Preschoolers

• Rainbow Waffles
• Rainbow Circles
• Pudding Color Mixing
• Ice Cube Painting
• Color Books
• Roll-A-Rainbow Game
• Rainbow Bracelets