Sensory Play — Sunshine Rice

We had so much fun playing with our patriotic sensory bin, that I HAD to make some more rainbow rice.  This time I chose to make it in a bright yellow color — perfect for summer!

Not sure how to make rainbow rice?  I just put in a few drops of food coloring into 2-3 cups of rice and stir until most of the rice is colored.  Then I pop it in the microwave for 10 seconds and spread it out on a plate to finish drying.

Once I had our sunshine rice ready, I had fun finding little trinkets to go with a beach theme.  I had some paper umbrellas I picked up at the dollar store for later this summer, some shells, and then I grabbed a few of their ocean animals.  I also added a plastic pirate flag and some “treasures” for them to find.

When I called them into the kitchen to play, they had fun finding all the little treasures.

Peanut immediately started telling a story…

“Look at this beautiful coin!” cried Mrs. Crab.  “I’m going to put it over with my umbrella…”

I had fun listening to her story for quite a while.

My youngest preschooler also started a story of his own.  He felt the need to add a few (more than a few) more ocean animals and bugs, and a couple trucks for good measure.

I love that they each put their own twist on their play.

When they were finished, I just put our sunshine rice in a bag, ready to play with another day!