This Halloween Rice Bin is magical. Come see why.
Ah, there’s nothing more fun than a good colored rice bin, am I right?! Don’t answer that. I’m throwing it out there rhetorically and don’t need it coming back to me. This Halloween rice bin is perfection and that’s the way I’ll keep it.
RELATED: Looking for so many Halloween activity ideas? I have a list of 40+ Halloween Activities perfect for toddlers and preschoolers.
I promise: this is not complicated.
Don’t worry. I wouldn’t lead you down a path of complication.
Though this might look elaborate and over the top, it is anything but.
It’s some quickly dyed rice, two bags on dollar store eye balls, and an egg carton I cut in half.
We aren’t talking about something sophisticated here – just something brilliantly simple and awesome.
RELATED: Want to learn more about the importance of sensory play? Check it out here!
First, we dye the rice.
Actually, first we need a quick supply list so here it is:
Materials
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- Rice
- Sensory bin (this is my 28 qt container from Target)
- Black food coloring
- Orange food coloring
- Eye balls (the dollar store)
- Egg carton (my recycle bin)
To make the Halloween Rice bin: I used 3 cups of white rice per color. So that’s 3 cups of rice PLUS 3 Tablespoons of white vinegar and some good squirts of food coloring. Mix them up in a ziplock bag or in a bowl. Get it good and coated.
Lay the rice out to dry on a baking sheet OR stick it in a low oven for 30 minutes. It’ll be ready.
ONCE DRY, THE COLOR DOES NOT TRANSFER TO LITTLE HANDS.
Add in the eye balls and call it good!
Toss in two bags of dollar store eye balls (we got these last year, they have them again this year, and it’s just such a solid $2 investment).
I added in two dollar store ice cream scoops with this sensory bin for rice and eye ball scooping.
Oh, and I grabbed an egg carton, cut it in half, and called it good on supplies.
Boy oh boy, did my kids RUN with this Halloween rice bin!
Wow, they really went to town with this – scooping eye balls, burying them, dumping the cartons, etc. There was no shortage of imagination with this rice bin.
Bonus: the eye balls come in green or yellow. We got a pack of each so my kids could also sort the eye balls too. How’s that for a Halloween miracle?!
It definitely doesn’t take much to set this bin up…
But I put it together in the beginning of October and two weeks later, it’s still going strong.
I’ll put this Halloween rice into a ziplock bag come November and store it away for next year. That’s the best part of rice bins- they last and last.
Go get some eyeballs – go dye some rice!
This was a super fun sensory bin to set up and I’m so glad I went for it. Yes, it took a few minutes to set up but it has bought me so much fun and happy playtime from my kids… well worth it.
When will you make a Halloween rice bin?
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