This weeks Unplugged Project Theme is white. Today we dyed some white rice a few different colors.
We mixed about 1/4 cup of rubbing alcohol with a few squirts of food coloring. The rubbing alcohol helps the rice dry faster and not clump together.
Then stir it up really well.
Then spread it out on a tray or waxed paper to dry. Beware of 4 legged thieves if you leave it outside to dry. The chipmunks were having a feast when I caught them!
Now what to do with all that pretty rice! Well, you could put some in an empty water bottle and make a shaker. You could glue it down on paper for an art project. Or you can make your sensory seeking child really happy by pouring it all in tubby and let her play in it. We added some glitter and a scoop or two and some little plastic animals. My husband has been building us a sensory table since Jake was small and we still don’t have one! But we do have a very large plastic under the bed tubby that works great for this type of play. Only today we didn’t have enough rice for such a large tubby so we used a smaller one. Ginger played outside in the rice for a long time this afternoon. She loves the way it feels.
This is such a cool idea for a project! After it’s been played with, is the rice still cookable and edible, do you think? It would be fun to see if it keeps the color once cooked. Mmmm, I love rice.
V loves playing with rice. Loves it. I don’t add the alcohol and mine never clumps, though YMMV. I love making the different colors and watching her mix them.
Very pretty rice! We like playing with rice here too – maybe we’ll have to color some.
love it!!!! I am stealing this idea!
Beautiful colored rice! Great idea!
Fun! I’ve colored rice before but not in this quantity. I know both my kids would love it.
Brilliant, my miss 10 is extremely sensory.
I love that Idea for the sensory bin. Great fun. Thanks
Oh, I’d give money to see the chipmunks carrying away colored rice!
That looks like fun for ME!
hmmm I don’t know if it would keep it’s color if you cooked it. But wouldn’t that be fun, to eat colored rice?!
i love the colors…that looks like so much fun. i would have just as much fun as my kids running my fingers through it.