The first time we introduced a rice sensory bin my little human was 18 months old. While I was observing how calmly he plays with it, I realized that I just finished my coffee while it was still warm. Without any interruptions.
Ok, to be completely honest, now and then he needed a gentle reminder that we don’t spill rice on the floor. Besides that, he stayed engaged for almost an hour. In toddler time this is like staying focused for days. I was just wondering why haven’t we tried this sooner. He is now 25 months old and rice sensory bin is still one of his favourite activities.
Setting up a “Rice sensory bin”
This is maybe the easiest activity to set up. You just pour one large bag of rice (I used 1 kg) into the bin, drop a few spoons, scoops and bowls into the rice and you are done. Cleaning after the activity is over is whole other story. My advice to you is to put a large blanket on the floor and then the rice bin in the middle of it. It is so much easier to clean up afterwards. Trust me.
And just one more note, a pretty important one, don’t forget to mention that we don’t eat raw rice. This is just for playing, no eating. My little human is pretty reasonable when I say that something shouldn’t go into mouth and he didn’t even try to do it.
Before we started to play, I also explained to him that it is very important not to spill rice on the floor. The rice needs to stay in the bin. If we spill some rice on the floor on purpose, game is over. But he liked this activity so much he didn’t want to risk it. He was so cute when he accidentally spilled some rice. He looked at me with his big eyes like he wanted to say “Did you see that?! I did’t mean to do it mommy. Please don’t take away my rice.”
Summary
Resources: bag of rice, scoops, bowls, one bigger container (bin) that doesn’t move easily to place the rice in
Focus: fine motor skills, eye-hand coordination, practical life skills
How to: just add the rice in the bin, throw in some scoops and bowls
Alternatives: using beans or uncooked pasta, instead of scoops and bowls use small trucks and excavators
A note about rice, beans and pasta: they can be easily put in noses, ears and mouths so use good judgement if your child is ready for this activity!