This Birthday Rice sensory bin is pretty simple AND multi-useful. You’ll understand what I mean in a bit. This sensory bin was in the table in our homeschool room, while the Birthday Cloud Dough Sensory Bin was in the upstairs (living room) sensory table. These two sensory bins are completely different in how they feel and sound. This Birthday Rice sensory bin is also much cleaner than the Birthday Cloud Dough. Keep reading to find out how I made this exact rice and ideas on how to manipulate it to work for you and your monster(s).
Birthday Rice Recipe (exact):
- White Rice (however much you feel like making)
- Choose various colors. I used Colorations Liquid Watercolors but Sargent Liquid Watercolors are also awesome.
- I used one large ziploc bag (doing colors light to dark), tossed in however much rice I wanted to make per color and added a few squirts of color.
- After each color, I dumped the finished but wet product into bin and moved on to the next color.
- It was summer when I made this, so I sat it out on the porch for about an hour, mixing occasssionally. (leave overnight if this isn’t an option).
- Happy Birthday confetti from Party City (but I found it here on Amazon too) and mix into dry rice.
More Ways to Make Multi-Colored Rice & to Make it Multi-useful:
- If you don’t want to buy liquid watercolors, you can, of course, use food coloring (but FYI it either permanently stains or I’m not that awesome at getting stains out).
- Don’t add the Happy Birthday confetti. You can still add confetti or sequin if you want, just add plain designs so you can use this rice for whatever theme you want.
- Just do your kid’s favorite color to start, instead of the whole damn rainbow.
What I Added & How We Used It:
I added a giant cupcake eraser from the Dollar Tree, wood candles from our Melissa & Doug Birthday Party Cake, and plastic balloons I got from a thrift store. I think they’re part of a cake topper or cake decorations. I’m not sure, I just thought they were cool.
You can add real candles, number candles, party favor toys, noice makers, pom pom fuzz balls, whatever strikes you as “birthday” and cool.
I buried letter and number manipulatives (can be magnets, foam letters/numbers, whatever you have) in the rice and when he found one, we identified it, made the letter sounds and came up with words with the same beginning sound. When he found a number we identified it, counted to that number and came up with a simple sentence using the number (ex: I have 10 fingers, I have two dogs). This not only helps with recognition but with speech too! Liam has speech apraxia so anything to get his jaws jabbin’ I’m doin’. Because we also do sign language (Liam’s first language), I ask him to sign everything along with verbalizing it.
He also used a million different cups, scoops, and funnels to sift through all this fun. A magnifying glass was the surprising favorite tool.
For the More Advanced:
Use numbers and letters to spell words and do math! Ask your kids to find two numbers and add or subtract them. Pick two numbers and determine which number is greater/bigger/more/less? Spell words, talk about end sounds, middle sounds. You can take this bin really far with only adding numbers and letters.
Go even further by adding words. You may need to get crafty and write out sight words on small cards but it would be a blast for your kid.
I hope you use this recipe and love it as much as we do. Be sure to check out the rest of our Birthday week fun including Birthday Slime.