Discovery play with scented colored rice

My son is almost 11 months old. We are entering the land of discovery and sensory play, and having so much fun doing it! With Valentines day quickly approaching, I wanted to try to color and scent some rice. Rice has been a favorite sensory play for my son. The sound it makes when shaken or poured and the wonderful sensation of running his hands through it and having it remain on his sticky little fingers is one of his favorites. I was amazed at how simple it is to color and scent the rice. If you do not want to use food coloring, you can die the rice with natural dyes or spices. The process is more in depth, and takes a bit more time.

scented colored rice recipe

One bag of white rice
Several Ziploc bags
A piece of paper towel
A spoon
Small cup of water
Food coloring
Essential oil (be sure it is a safe oil for your little one. If you are unsure it is safe, please email me with questions.)

directions

I wanted to make several different colors, so I divided the rice into four plastic bags. If you want to make a single color, simply use one sandwich bag for your rice. For a larger quantity,use a freezer bag with 2 cups of rice in it and double the food coloring drops and use two or three drops of oil.

Begin by dividing your rice into sandwich bags. Place a half a cup into the bag.

add a small amount of water to your spoon with a single drop of oil and 4 to 8 drops of food coloring.

Drop the mixture into your bag of rice.

remove as much air from the bag as possible, Close the bag securely, and mix in the mixture to the rice very well. You want to be sure the oil disperses, so gently rub the sealed bag in your hands for at least two minutes.

Lay the bags flat to dry overnight, or approximately 10 to 12 hours.

since water was added to disperse the color and oil, while the rice is drying it will stick to its self. With a gentle shake, all the rice will separate and once completely dry, will not re-stick to itself.

I use my scented rice as an element in my sons valentines discovery bowl. Oh what fun we had and he enjoyed the color along with the soothing scent of lavender.