Looking for something fun, easy to make and safe for your toddler to do?
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Do you need creative ideas for your one, two, three or four year old to do? Hands on sensory activities and toys are great for toddlers, and will help with motor skills and development. Creating a sensory rice bin is actually quite simple to make. All you really need is a bin of some sort, uncooked rice, and a bunch of fidgets, gadgets and toys to put in it. Your sensory seeking toddler will thank you. I have created a list of the easiest rice sensory bins to make, mostly using common items that toddlers would probably already have.
Find and Seek Rice Bin: This is a fun scavenger hunt kind of game, and you can use just about anything. This is a great learning opportunity to build vocabulary for your little one. You can put random objects or toys in the rice and ask the child to identify it when they have found it. To build word or vocabulary recognition you can have the picture or word on a card to show them what to get. Be as creative as you want! Add a timer to it and have them try and beat their previous time! Your toddler will laugh and giggle the whole way through!
What you need:
1. Rice
2. Sensory toys (or any that fit in the rice)
4. Timer
Letters or Numbers bin: Creating a letters and numbers bin is a great way to reinforce academic skills with your ever so eager to learn toddler. You can bury magnetic numbers or letters in the sensory rice bin and ask your child to identify them. If they are learning the letters in their name, you can just put just those letters in rice and have them identify each one as they find them. Then they can place them in order and say the letters aloud until they learn their name. This is a great matching activity as well. Hold up the letters or numbers you want them to find and have them match them. They can then say the letter or number and then practice writing it. Kids love sensory activities, and adding rice to a bin is perfect for their little hands. There are so many educational learning opportunities with this rice bin.
What you need:
3. Bin
Letter writing rice bin: Another good way to use a sensory rice bin, is to write letters and numbers in the rice. You will need colorful paper to place on the bottom of the bin and just enough rice to cover the bottom. Your little one can use their finger to create the letters/numbers/ and or shapes. This is a great activity for hand and motor skills and it is frustration free. You can also use different materials instead of rice such as sand, shaving cream or paint.
What you will need:
4. Sand
Themed Rice Bins
If you want to make a rice bin with a specific theme, look around your house and see what you have or what interests your toddler has. Most little ones love oceans or animals of some sort. I have put together some themes that are super easy to create.
Ocean rice bin: Any water toy animals you have will fit nicely in this rice bin (octopus, whales, dolphins, fish…). Boats and ships are also fun to add to this bin. You can even dye the rice blue with food coloring, and make it look like a real ocean. Another fun and safe way of creating this bin is to add water instead of rice. It may be more messier, but is the same amount of fun!
What you need:
1.Rice
Here is Tinkerlabs receipe to dye rice blue
Construction site rice bin: Any truck loving toddler will love this sensory bin. Any construction vehicles will do (small or large). If you have a monster truck loving child, add those too. Your child will spend hours scooping and dumping the rice! Make sure you have enough rice to scoop, if you do not put enough on the bottom they will not be able to scoop.
What you need:
1.Rice
Princess Themed Rice bin: This sensory bin is for all those little princesses out there (my daughter included). Little people will fit perfectly in here, and maybe some tea cups and plates. A rice tea party is perfect for your toddler. If you do not have little people, barbie’s or any small doll will fit nicely as well. Add some extra beads and some jewelry and you have a very fun play date!
What you need:
1.Rice
Colored Rice Bins
Pink rice themed sensory bin: Still staying with the adorable princess theme, you can dye the rice pink and place tea sets, jewelry, ponies and sunglasses. Dying the rice is easy and pretty quick. Read here for the exact recipe to dye rice for your bins.
What you need:
1.Pink Rice or dyed rice
Garden Rice Sensory Bin: Grab your toddlers gardening tools and watch them have a great time in this sensory bin. Usually a small watering bucket, and small hand held shovels will do. If you have buckets and some gardening tools, you can add that too. If you want to be even more creative you can add some grass and flowers that you have laying around.
What you need:
Remember with any of these rice bin ideas, the items can be changed out for your child’s favorite items. You can really add rice with any of their toys. This will create new and fun ways to play with their toys for your toddler!
Here are some other themed bins you can make:
- Christmas bin
- Easter bin
- Valentines day bin
- Halloween bin
- Fall bin
- Winter bin
- St. Patrick’s Day bin
Conclusion
Rice bins are great sensory activities that are easy to make at home and fun for toddlers of all ages. You can literally pick a different theme every week and probably have something to do for a year. Remember that you can also do the same bins with water or kinetic sand too!
To read other sensory bin ideas click here.
I'm 40 years old and a mom of 2 three year olds and a first grader. I am also a Special education teacher. My passion has always been to help people, which is why I started this blog.
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