You only need a few items that you probably already have lying around the house to make a super fun themed sensory kit just in time for Valentine's Day! 💕 ❤️
While my family was all home during the pandemic, keeping 3 toddlers occupied with creative things to do was a full time job. Luckily I found an easy at-home way to make a themed sensory bin that was safe for toddlers -- while uncooked beans and water beads are fun, they're not safe for little ones to play with if accidentally ingested, so rice is a great alternative - fairly easy to vacuum up if spilled all over your floor (and it will!) and an easy one to customize for any holiday!
Ingredients Needed for Pink Rice:
- Uncooked white rice
- Gallon ziploc bag
- White vinegar
- Red food dye
Items Needed for Sensory Bin Activities:
These are optional but make for an easy way to create the below guided activities for your sensory bin!
- pom-poms
- pipe-cleaners
- colored paper
- scissors
- In a gallon sized ziploc bag, combine 1 cup uncooked white rice, a few drops of red food coloring (for gel food coloring, only a teeny amount is needed), and 1 teaspoon of white vinegar. Seal the bag tightly.
- Shake and smush the mixture around to insure that the color is evenly distributed. Depending on how large of a container you're filling, or if you're making more bins for multiple kids, double or triple the recipe. You can even make different batches different shades or colors to create a multi-colored experience. More drops of dye = deeper, darker colors.
- Line an edged baking pan with paper towels (or a dark dish towel, since the dye may transfer) and pour out the rice in an even layer to air dry at least 6 hours.
- Once fully dry, you can pour into any low shallow bin or container. The IKEA trofast bins work great for this!
Guided Activities for your Sensory Bin:
- Letter seek and find: cut out shapes and letters to spell out a secret message!
- Number hunt: cut out shapes and numbers and have your child put them in chronological order
- Shape sorting: use a separated tray or a muffin tin for your child to sort various shapes found in the bin
- Color sorting: use a separated tray or a muffin tin for your child to sort items from the bin based on color
- Scene recreation: name a favorite movie, and have your child use small figurines to set up or act out a scene from that show
- Shape creation: have your child use the materials found in the bin to create the outline of a heart in the rice
Ideas for Other Items to Add in from Around the House:
Take a look around the house for other pink/red/white items or heart/flower shaped items to stay with your theme!
- Cupcake liners
- Small bowls & cups
- Tongs & Tweezers
- beads (if age-appropriate due to size)
- Old costume jewelry
- Dice
- plastic coins
- cookie cutters
- fake flowers
- small ice scoops
- small figurines (hint: dig around the bottom of your toy bin 😉 )
The wonderful thing about a sensory bin is open-ended nature of it! Feel free to use some of these ideas or none of them! Let your child guide the play - you never know what their creative mind will come up with! If you create a bin on your own, tag us on Instagram so we can see the fun you come up with and we can share your ideas with the community!!
💞 Support Local Businesses: 💞
Don't have the time or energy to DIY or don't love the idea of getting rice all over your house? Check out these local sensory kit businesses around Wheaton, IL who sell amazing take-home sensory kits or jars and are offering adorable Valentine's Day themed kits with other base ingredients like play-dough, sand, or slime!
Susie Spinach - slime kits that not only have mini themed goodies inside but also include amazing scents! She also has mini versions with cards to hand out to friends!
Brainy Day Box - play dough kits that include tons of adorable little themed items and play prompts that keep your little ones using their brain while exploring with their senses! She has valentine favors, travel kits, full size kits and activity trays available!
Explore Playfully - play dough and kinetic sand based play kits that include themed items to play along with, all housed in an easy-to-store jar!
Looking for even more at-home sensory play ideas? Follow my favorite local fellow twin mom @LowLiftFun who puts together amazing low-prep activities and creative at-home things to do that will have your kids playing for hours while not even realizing they are learning at the same time!
