Sometimes we have this great idea for the classroom, but end up exhausting ourselves as we rush around trying to gather materials. You have this idea in your head. You might have thought about it while drinking coffee from your to-go cup as you headed to work. You might have thought about it days before, but forgot to gather everything together beforehand. Or maybe the idea you had in your head simply wasn’t coming together as you had planned. When this happens, you end up feeling defeated before you’ve even opened your classroom door to greet your toddlers and preschoolers. After having this happen to me countless times, I decided I needed a plan. And I was going to start this plan with a toddler apple sensory bin that I just knew our children would love. And it started with dyed rice.
But How to Dye Rice?
Grab a gallon sized plastic baggie that can be sealed. Pour about a cup of rice inside the bag. Add about a teaspoon of white vinegar. Add as much coloring as desired. (I love using Wilton icing color!) Seal the bag and shake until the rice is coated well. Open the bag and dump the rice onto a paper towel, spreading it out so it’s a very thin layer. Allow to dry thoroughly.
If you want to have different colors of rice, do the above procedure for each color and then, when dry, mix the colors. Once you have your main ingredient ready to go, it’s easy to gather whatever other items you want to add.
Padded Felt Apples (The ones I used are no longer available, but I do love these ones!) Red and green plastic bins Scoops and tweezers
No racing around at the last minute. I had time to put a few other activities together before greeting the children. That’s exactly how I like my mornings to start! At first they will want to use their hands. The feeling of the rice slipping between their fingers is a great sensory experience.
We talked about how the rice falling into the container sounded like rain.
As their hands and fingers strengthen, they will start wanting to use the tools that are provided. In this case, it was small scoops. We also provided tweezers for our preschoolers.
Preschoolers will start noticing the other materials in the bin.
I wanted to add some color sorting, so I found some colored plastic containers at the dollar store that were the same color as the felt apples.
We also read some favorite apple books throughout the week.
5 Little Apples How Do Apples Grow? Apple Farmer Annie Peppa Goes Apple Picking Apples and Pumpkins
Apple Muffins 3-Dimensional Apple Tree Art Here is my Privacy Policy
