Make a Valentine rice sensory bin for your little ones to explore for Valentine’s Day. This post will give you inspiration for making your own Valentine sensory bin, how to make dyed rice, and ideas of what tools and accessories to add to your bin.
Valentine Rice Sensory Bin
Making Dyed Rice
Making dyed rice is quick and easy! The colors come out so amazing. It’s fun to make different color combinations for various themes.
Here are the supplies and directions to dye some rice for your sensory bin:
Supplies Needed:
- 4 cups of rice
- 2 TBS of coloring
- 2 TBS of rubbing alcohol
Directions:
- Pour all into a Ziploc bag and mix until fully colored.
- Pour the rice out onto a tray and leave to dry in the sun or in the oven on low for a few minutes until it is completely dry.
The color does not come off the rice and stain the kid’s hands. Save your rice to use year after year!
The colors are enticing! Can’t wait to play!
Sensory Bin Tools and Accessories
Here is a list of suggestions for tools and accessories to add to your bin with lines to Amazon if you need help finding them:
- heart-shaped cookie cutters
- foam heart shapes
- heart jewels
- pieces of stringed beads
- bowls
- long-handled spoons
- heart-shaped boxes
- heart ice cube tray
- acrylic mini hearts
- measuring cup
- slime charms
- small scoops (formula scoops are the best!)
Isn’t it messy??
Yep, it’s messy. It can be very messy yet there are so many benefits to sensory play that I deal with the mess so we can have it out.
I let them play with guidelines and supervision, and then we clean it up. Sometimes we put the lids on the table and take a break from it for a while.
Toddlers can be really messy in the sensory bin but they are learning. I teach them that sensory stuff stays in the sensory bin.
May I also suggest a Roomba! It does a good job vacuuming with sand – not quite as well with rice but it does work. Another idea is to use a large sheet or towel under the table to collect most of the sensory bin material that falls to make clean up a bit easier.
Usually, we have only two friends at a time at this table and they take turns.
Make the rules clear and be consistent. If they don’t listen or things get out of hand, we clean it up and take a break for a while.
The boys working in the bin show below spent at least an hour playing. They said they were “organizing”. I love it!
Little charms are exciting to hunt for through the rice!
Be sure to check out some of my other bins: Dinosaur Sensory Bins, Tadpole Sensory Bin, Fill the Silo Sensory Bin, and Sensory Bin + Puzzle.
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Beth
Thursday 16th of January 2014
Just made some for preschool. It is GREAT! Thank you!
A M Smith
Sunday 12th of February 2012
This is the coolest thing!! Thanks for sharing!