Have you tried Pinterest?
It happens to be my new favorite addiction website.
Aside from the million calorie dessert recipes and that-is-so-me quotes, I have also found some great activities for the kids.
This is a very good thing because I have ZERO creativity. Give me directions and I can follow them. Ask me to think up my own craft and we will be coloring in coloring books all day.
So determined to find some activities that my teen and my little ones would enjoy, I decided to attempt rainbow rice.
This cute idea, originally from Share and Remember seemed like a great sensory activity for my oldest with autism* and a neat alternative to the sand/water/mud table that my two and three year-olds love.
First place all ingredients far away from the “dumper” of the group set out all ingredients:
Large ziploc bags, food coloring, rubbing alcohol, uncooked white rice
Second fill each bag with 4 cups of uncooked rice, 2 T food coloring and 3 T rubbing alcohol.
Seal the bag and give to children who are now climbing on the counter waiting patiently.
Create a song called Shake Your Rice Out and sing to the tune of Shake Your Sillies Out but do not get distracted and miss someone unzipping their zipper bag.
Next turn on the their favorite television show so your children will not see what you are doing and dye their hands with food coloring transfer the contents of each bag on to separate cookie sheets and set out to dry.
The rice should absorb the color and alcohol within an hour if you are able to set it in the sun. Arrange the rice in a bin and keep your children from touching your creation so you can take a picture before they ruin it let the kids play.
And if your children are anything like mine, this will happen after 10 seconds a full hour of playing without fighting….
So there you go, my first documented Pinterest project. I would love for you to “pin” it hope that you liked it!
*Notes on making this autism-friendly: Making this and playing with it was a great sensory activity but if your child with autism has a sensitive nose like mine, make sure you do not mix the alcohol, food coloring and rice when he or she is near. Ashlyn had to leave the room until her bag was sealed and the smell was gone (oops!). Also, I made her a separate container and didn’t even get a chance to take a picture of it before she snatched it and wandered the yard while running her hands through it. Definitely make a hand-held batch if your autism kiddo is old enough not to dump it everywhere.
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I have been wanting to try this for a while. What a great sensory experience. Just pinned!
Thanks for pinning, we love making it, so easy and keeps the kids busy forever.
you also can use it in water bottles, 2 liters etc. It becomes a rattle for little ones:) if you use a 2 liter add magnets inside. Add a magnet wand tied to a string to the lid. Just make sure the lids are glued tight.
This is great! Although my baby isn’t really old enough for a lot of the things I find on Pinterest, I do like to pin future projects for him. I’ve found a lot of really cute ideas for crafts and craft rooms. Pinterest is absolutely amazing..love this idea!
I love it. What a fun project for the whole family!!
And you already know how I feel about Pinterest. 🙂
I have been wanting to try this with the boys.
That’s cool. I think C would love that but it would end up everywhere. Did it end up all over your grass?
Yep, which actually ended up to be a good thing because deer wandered into our yard and ate it. The kids got to watch the deer close up, it was like the project that kept on giving :).
OH so fun – and one day I will have time to pin. Maybe.
You need to pin clothes just so that I can repin them all.
I’m so not a crafty person! Pinterest has really helped in that area. I see things I like and am able to find directions on how to do them. WIN-WIN!
This looks GREAT!! Going to have to do this for my boys!
We might just have to try that.
I am technically on Pintrest, but I haven’t played around with it at all.
I used to be the same and barely used it but now I love it and it really doesn\’t take up too much time.
That looks such fun. I am on Pinterest but I don’t use it often.
I love Pinterest is such a great place to save ideas and find them.
Geez, that’s unlbieevbale. Kudos and such.
I LOVE Pintrest! And this is a great activity that I might try with my kids.
What a great idea and it seems pretty easy. I might have to try that to keep them from driving me up the wall when I’m trying to fix them “the grossest food ever”. Thank you for sharing it! I have joined pininterest, but haven’t been back. It’s going to take me a while to get used to it I think.
It took me a while to get used to it but now I\’m in love with it!
This looks so fun! And while I don’t think my toddler is yet ready just to play with the rice (she’d probably just aim to eat it), I will be saving this idea for when she gets a better older! Thanks for sharing!
Oh, Pinterest. I have daydreams of me and Pinterest strolling down the beach during sunset, hand in hand, while an 80’s love song plays softly in the background.
Yeah. I’m sort of a fan.
That is a really cool activity. I wish the internet had been around when I was a kid, I swear. All the neat ideas that can be shared instantly, it’s amazing, isn’t it?
I LOVE Pinterest! What a sweet addiction it is. This is an awesome craft, I’m like you and can follow the directions but come up with something on my own? no way! I’m definitely going to try this with my kids 🙂
I haven’t tried Pinterest. I don’t quite understand the addiction *tilts head*… but I’m curious. That was a fun looking project though!
So cool! I definitely want to try this.
If I can ever get on Pinterest I will repin on mine. 😉
Cool! The picture of the colored rice looks so professional.
I just pinned you, baby! 😉
I’m pretty sure I’m glad I haven’t started surfing Pinterest yet. I can totally see how hours upon hours could be spent there.
Woo hoo, thanks!!
The funny thing is Pinterest actually doesn\’t take much time. You can go there, pin a few things and have ideas for new things to do. I seem to be able to pull myself away from it, unlike twitter.
What a great activity. I think that I am going to have to try it.
I haven’t tried Pinterest. Im getting really tempted though. Thank goodness no one has sent me an invite 🙂
This looks like so much fun…and since the weather looks like it’s not going to be so good, a good “activity”
Plus I am slowly becoming addicted to Pinterst myself…I love the quotes and shoes…(of course)
I am obsessed with pinterest! What a great activity for the kids! I might have to give this a try!
I just did the painted feet butterfly this afternoon (which I think I re-pinned from you?). It is my mom’s 60th next week and don’t know what the eff else to get her. I about had a heart attack with all the paint around (I don’t like “stuff” on hands and faces and SKIN and I was dying just painting the girls’ feet). I am like you, I cannot come up with ideas but I can follow directions!
How did the butterflies turn out? I love the ideas with hand and foot prints.
This is so great! Looks like the kids had so much fun. I’m going to try pinterest!
Definitely try it, so many neat things to try there.
I don’t belong to pinterest, yet…but what a great idea for kids! It looked like they really enjoyed it, too!
They loved it. And you need to join, you would love all of the recipes!
Awesome! And I haven’t ventured too far into Pinterest yet, but this makes me want to pin more than cute clothes and stuff that will never fit in my house anyway 🙂
We’re for sure doing this soon!
I didn\’t get into Pinterest at first but once I started really using it, I love it and have found so many great ideas that I could never think up myself.
that is sooo cool!
This is fantastic Jess! All around fantastic!
Thanks Galit, you do some amazingly creative things with your kiddos so I appreciate it!
Awesome to see it works and is relatively easy to do. I’ve been wanting to make this for my four kiddos and now will definitely have to try it out.
Very easy to do, try it and let me know what you think.
Love this! I’ve been seeing a lot of the colored rice projects. I’m not brave enough yet. I love how in tune you are with Ashlyn’s needs. 🙂
That looks awesome! I am going to have to try this with the kids 🙂
It was really fun, actually I think they had more fun making it than they did playing with it. Which is a good thing since they ultimately dumped it all in the grass ;).