How to turn rice into a sensory activity for babies and toddlers

It’s been a while since we did our last sensory activity with the colored pasta. The kids loved it and it proved to be a great baby activity too, so I felt some urge to do a new one.

No pasta this time, I got myself a cheap bag of rice instead. I dumped the rice in a transparent box and then mixed in some decorative stuff to discover. I used some glitter, shiny stars, pompoms, a small bell and other winter ornaments I found in the house (leftovers from the Xmas times …). I first intended this  as a sensory activity for my two toddlers, but at the end decided to let my youngest check it out first. And boy did she love it!

Elena (1 year) got immediately interested and came to investigate.

First she found the small bell I hid inside and started shaking it. When she lost interest in the bell, she started to investigate the rice. She tried to hold it in her little hands and watched it fall like rain drops between her fingers and back into the box. That was so exciting that she had to try that over and over again!

Next on the activity list, she started grabbing the small decorative objects and tossing them from one hand to the other and back. (Side note: I do recommend you stay aside your baby if you try this at home and make sure she does not put the small objects in her mouth!).

It took her about an hour to investigate and approve the box, before I was allowed to pass it on to her older brother & sister 🙂

Now I hear you wonder: “Didn’t that turn into a messy situation?” That’s what I expected. I was prepared to find rice all over the floor. But I was worried for no reason. The couple of grains that fell out of the box were vacuum cleaned in a matter of seconds.

The educational side of this baby activity:

• Baby fine motor skills: Babies get to exercise gripping and holding stuff and coordinating both hands to handle small objects.
• Sensory development: This sensory activity provides babies with a rich tactile experience which is great for developing their senses.
• Support baby curiosity and desire for investigation due to the different objects mixed and hidden in the rice treasure box.

And you don’t need much tools. Besides the box and the rice, you just add whatever objects you find in your house.