Our Adventures in Sensory Play
Sensory play has been a fabulous addition to our weekly activity schedule.
When I first introduced Freddie to sensory play, I didn’t know a lot about what materials to use and how to present each experience. We began with a plain tub of white rice. It wasn’t fancy, but it was a start.
I was excited and prepared for a great mess. Instead, Freddie refused to touch the rice, something I had not planned on. I was a little disheartened but we pushed on. Our second sensory tub resulted in one finger going into the tub and then quick refusal of any more contact. Preston and I played for about 15 minutes and modeled different play ideas.
It took months, but, we coloured our rice and added plastic insects and animals. I brought the tub out for a few minutes at a time. Freddie’s interest grew with each experience.
Freddie now loves sensory rice tubs and we have branched out into using other materials.
DIY rainbow rice
We use a simple super recipe that once completely dried, will keep indefinitely.
2 cups of white rice
1 teaspoon of vinegar
Few drops of food colouring or liquid watercolour
Add all ingredients to sealable container or zip lock bag.
Shake till all rice is coloured.
Spread on tray and leave to dry over night.
It is important to let it dry completely or it will go mouldy and smell.
Keeping your coloured rice
Coloured rice will keep indefinitely as long it has been allowed to completely dry. We have been using ours for almost a year now and it is still as bright as the day we made it.