After lunch, it finally happened. Geetle got a bit whiney. Before the snow, I had already planned a Friday play date with a neighborhood friend. He was supposed to come over at 1pm and Geetle was having a hard time waiting. Then his mom called and cancelled! It was a devastating blow.
But, if I know my kids (and I do) there is one thing that can turn that frown upside down…..colored sand art! I was saving this project for an emergency, and here it was. If you will remember, on Thursday I had made a point to buy rice, rubbing alcohol and food coloring. Now you will see why.
How to use rice to make colored “sand”
- Pour plain old fashioned rice into a glass dish and cover with rubbing alcohol.
- Stir in food coloring until the liquid reaches the right color.
- Let soak for a while (anywhere from 2 hours to overnight depending on color desired).
- Then drain off the alcohol and spread the rice on a flat dish to dry.
- The remaining alcohol will evaporate and you are left with brightly colored rice.
I gave the kids empty jelly jars, dishes of red, green and plain white rice, and table spoons. They layered the colored rice in the jars, carefully pouring from the spoons. A paper plate underneath caught any spills.
Between them, they made 7 jars of colored rice, each quite different. I like this project because its good for hand-eye coordination as well as easy to clean up. Also, it’s much cheaper than those sand art kits at Wal-Mart and the rice is a better size and texture for younger kids.
We tied squares of Christmas wrapping paper around the top of each jar and set them on the window sills.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I am enjoying your snow day blurbs….keep it up.
This is a great idea! Living in Hawaii, I have tons of rice in the pantry. I think I’m going to try this next weekend! Thanks!