Well, the rainbow rice that I made on the weekend was a HIT with the Hooligans! To make your own, click here.
I spread it out in rainbow fashion in a plastic bin, and added colourful bowls, plastic eggs, , scoops, glass jars, craft sticks, glass beads and cotton balls. 
I’ve had a couple of people ask where I get my containers for my sensory bins. You really don’t need a fancy container. I often use my large 9 x 15 pyrex (glass) baking pan, or a large foil “turkey roasting pan” that I picked up at the dollar store. When I’m making a sensory bin that’s really big, I use a shallow storage container with a lid – the kind that you get at Walmart or the Hardware store. You can even use a shallow cardboard box as a sensory bin. This one, I picked up at the dollar store for a few bucks. It’s supposed to be a kitty litter box.
Anyway, back to the rainbow bin. The Hooligans were REALLY excited to see this. Heck who wouldn’t be? Doesn’t it look yummy?
And it still looks gorgeous when it’s all mixed up! 
Have you ever made rainbow rice? How did your little people play with it?
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Beautiful! I’ve never colored rice… I think it may be time.
I made rainbow rice earlier in the year with my children but they used it to create shape pictures. They would use the glue first in whatever shape they chose and then decorate it with the rice.
I’ve just recently found your site and I can’t tell you how wonderful I think it is!! I’ve bookmarked countless activities to try with my three year old daughter.
We just made a batch of the colored rice and, including when a container cover decided it didn’t want to fit anymore and blue rice was shaken all over the place, we had a lot of fun! I can’t wait to see how creative we get to be with it tomorrow when it dries. 
Thank you so much!!
So glad you’ve found my site, Jennifer! Thanks so much for letting me know that you’re getting lots of inspiration here. I just love hearing that!
When you’re finished with the rice, you can just pour it into a jar and keep it to play with another time. I still have the batch that we made way back in the spring. Have fun playing with yours tomorrow!
It was a hit!
I set-up the four containers of colored rice, some of my daughter’s smaller toys (animals, planes, plastic eggs, shovels), and some small plastic containers, next to a plastic bin big enough to hold everything. Then I let her at it! 
She was so meticulous at first, carefully shoveling a little bit of each color into the bin… then she really let loose and had SUCH fun. She made designs in the rice, filled the plastic eggs to make maracas “all by [her]self,” had fun for about an hour, and got me right in there with her. She even told me how much she liked “rainbow rice” (I hadn’t called it that and thought that rather cool). So, thanks again for the idea! 
I’ll be back — often!!
Yay! So glad it was a hit, Jennifer! Too cute that she actually called it “rainbow rice”! What a smarty she is!
Cheers! Jackie
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Oh my gosh!! I am the official “Preschool Teacher,” for my four yr. old Granddaughter and do a lot of crafts with her. Your blog is so inspiring, though. Rainbow Rice? We both LOVE Bright colors and rainbows.
I will be making this with her Thursday, when Gran’ma babysits again!! Thank you so much for sharing.
I made some this morning using your recipe. It turned out great. I put some in a tub like you did with a bunch of sand tools, and my 2-year-old son delightedly dumped the entire bucket into the grass. Oh well… there’s more. Plus the yard has a colourful patch.
Oopsy! Oh well, you’re right. You can always make more. I’m glad you found it so easy to make. One thing that might help if you have a little one who loves to dump what they’re playing with – a blanket or tablecloth (a vinyl one works really well) underneath the play area, and then if there are major spills you can just pour it all back into the container.
How do you color the rice without cooking it? This seems like a terrific idea!!!
There’s a link right at the top of the post, Emily. That will take you to the directions. It’s all very easy to do, and quite mess free.