This easy Easter sensory bin is the perfect way to spend time this Spring! Preschoolers will love playing with the colors and it’s easy to throw together and save to use again and again.
This is such a basic activity you’ll be thrilled with how long kids engage with it! We used rainbow rice but you could swap that for beans, papers or even pom poms if those are more readily available.
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Why Kids Love Sensory Bins
Sensory bins are amazing because kids can practice independent play while working on all kinds of developmental skills. They’re practicing colors, sorting, and really working on their fine motor skills. You can fine tune your sensory bin for different ages too, just make sure anything you add to your bin is age appropriate and safe.
One of the best things about sensory bins is that you can make them custom and specialized for holidays, or you can throw in any random supplies you have laying around. Ladles are great, along with kids cups and other age-appropriate kitchen tools.
Supplies
- 16 quart storage bin or 28q storage bin (28q is lower profile for younger kids to be able to reach in and play)
- Food Dye (get the neon! It really makes a difference with the pastel colors)
- White Rice (I got a 10lb bag of long grain white rice)
- White vinegar (to dye rice)
- Ziplock bags to dye rice
- Wax paper or paper towels with cookie sheet underneath
- Mini chicks (one 9 pack)
- Chenille Bunnies (3)
- Plastic Easter Eggs
- Bucket to match rice color (clear mason jar works too!)
Bonus Fun Items
Making Your Rainbow Rice
To dye your rainbow rice you want to use a ratio of 1 cup to 1 tsp of rice and vinegar. I used 3 cups rice to 3 tsp vinegar.
- Pour 1 cup uncooked white rice (long grain bagged rice works better than boxed Minute rice!) into a plastic baggie and add a few drops of food coloring to the bag. I used gel and it worked great! I was going for a pastel color, so I used less food coloring, but if you’re wanting a more intense color simply add more.
- Add 1 teaspoon vinegar to the bag and shake until the rice is colored.
- Dump the colored rice on wax paper (I didn’t have any so I just placed some paper towels on a cookie sheet and called it a day!) and spread it out evenly to dry. I did this before bed so it would be nice and dry by morning, but it usually only takes around an hour to dry.
- Once dried, pour each color of rice into a different plastic bag – we did this so we could color sort on the first day of the sensory bin. (I reused the plastic bag I used to mix the rice and food dye).
Putting Together Your Sensory Bin
Sensory bin are great for letting kids just play and seeing what they come up with, but it can be great for practicing colors too! I thought it would be fun to pour each color into a straight line in the sensory bin and do some color sorting. I had my toddler find an easter egg that matched the color of rice, then scoop the rice up and find the matching color bucket to dump the rice into!
We added funnels into the buckets for a fun experience. You could use a clear mason jar instead of the buckets to see the rice colors too depending on your child’s age, just remember to pick safe items that are age appropriate.
Tips for Creative Play
The next day we wanted to switch things up, so my toddler mixed all the colors up and we dumped some cute little chicks and Easter bunnies that I found at Michaels for creative play. I kept the funnels, buckets and Easter eggs in the sensory bin and added mini tongs so she could work on her fine motor skills to pick up the chicks and bunnies and place them in the Easter eggs with the tongs.
Remember not to overcrowd your sensory bin. Kids get overstimulated just like adults, so make sure they have enough room to be creative- you can always switch out items and tools to keep it new!
Storing Your Sensory Bin
To store, we recommend putting the dyed rice in an airtight container. Stored in an airtight container the rice will keep for years. (Just make sure it’s completely dry before you try to store it.) In a ziploc baggie keep the accessories that are Easter specific together so you can pull them out easily. I like to reuse my bins for other sensory play.
Ideas for Other Things To Add
There are all kinds of fun things you can try with your Easter sensory bin, here are a few of our favorites!
- Use pom poms or cotton rounds instead of rice. These pastel ones are super cute!
- Try crinkle grass too for a different texture.
- Use an egg carton in the bin and see if. your kiddo can organize their easter eggs.
- Dye all the rice green so it looks like grass and do a ‘hunt’ for Easter eggs.
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Get the How-To
Supplies
- 1 16 quart storage bin or 28 quart storage bin (28q works better for younger kids to be able to reach their hands in and play)
- 6 tsp food dye (colors of choice, we used a few drops of 6 different colors for our rainbow rice. )
- 3 cups white rice
- 3 tsp white vinegar
- 1 piece wax paper
- mini chicks, chenille bunnies, buckets (optional)
- 1 bag plastic easter eggs
Instructions
Dyeing Rainbow Rice
- Pour 1 cup uncooked white rice (long grain bagged rice works better than boxed Minute rice!) into a plastic baggie and add a few drops of food coloring to the bag. I used gel and it worked great! I was going for a pastel color, so I used less food coloring.
- Add 1 teaspoon vinegar to the bag and shake until the rice is colored.
- Dump the colored rice on wax paper (I didn’t have any so I just placed some paper towels on a cookie sheet and called it a day!) and spread it out evenly to dry. I did this before bed so it would be nice and dry by morning, but it usually only takes around an hour to dry.
- Once dried, pour each color of rice into a different plastic bag – we did this so we could color sort on the first day of the sensory bin. (I reused the plastic bag I used to mix the rice and food dye).
Assembling Your Bin
- If you're going to encourage color sorting, keep each color of bag of rice separate until you're wanting to play.
- Add in your chicks, tongs, buckets and any other accessories for kids to play with. Remember not to overdue it- kids can get overwhelmed with too many options so instead swap things around periodically.
Storing Your Bin
- To store, we recommend putting the rice back in an airtight container. Stored in an airtight container the rice will keep for years. In a ziploc baggie keep the accessories that are Easter specific together so you can pull them out easily. I like to reuse my bins for other sensory play.