This rainbow rice recipe is super simple to make and will lead to hours of fun, sensory play. Read on to learn how to make rainbow rice for play or if you don’t want to make your own, you can purchase some here.
Rainbow Rice Recipe Video Tutorial
Check out the below video to see how to make rainbow rice:
Materials Needed to Make Rainbow Rice
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- Long Grain Rice (uncooked)
- Sealable Gallon Plastic Bags
- White Vinegar
- Food Coloring
- Baking Sheets
- Parchment Paper
- Spatula
- Storage bin (optional)
How To Make Rainbow Rice – Rainbow Rice Recipe
- Add about 3 cups of uncooked rice to a sealable gallon bag.
- Pour about 1 Tbsp of white vinegar into the bag.
- Add food coloring to the rice.
- Seal the bag and mix with your hands until color is evenly distributed. If you want the color to be brighter, add more food coloring and mix again.
- Pour the rice onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Use a spatula to spread out the rice on the baking sheet. I use the same baking sheet to dry 3 colors at a time.
- Once the rice is dry it will be stuck together a bit. Gently break it apart using your fingers then move to a storage bin and it will keep for years!
Ways to Play with Rainbow Rice
Rainbow rice is such a great sensory play material. Here are a few ideas for ways to play with rainbow rice:
Sensory Bin – The easiest way to play with rainbow rice is just to add it to a large bin with some scoops, bowls, bottles, funnels or anything you can find around the house. Present the bin to a child and let them direct the play. You may want to lay a blanket or towel below the bin to catch any stray rice that makes its way out of the bin. It’s also helpful to instruct the child to keep the rice in the bin. If you find your child throwing rice everywhere, gently instruct them how you would like them to keep it in the bin and if they still insist on throwing it everywhere, stop play for the day and tell them they can try again the next day. Eventually, they will learn the rice stays in the bin and be able to play with relatively little overflow.
Sensory Writing Tray – We have loved using rainbow rice to learn to write letters, shapes and numbers. All you need is a paintbrush, a shallow tray and about 1/2 cup of rainbow rice. Ask your child to draw a letter in the rice using the paintbrush. You can even show them the letter ask them to make the letter in rice. If you don’t have the materials needed to make your own sensory writing tray setup, you can get one of ours here.
And if you don’t want to make your own rainbow rice, you can get a bulk bag of ours here.
More Sensory Play Ideas
Looking for more simple, sensory play ideas? Check out some of our favorites:
