Giant Rice Pool Sensory

Table of Contents:

1. Are you game to try this giant rice pool?
2. How this activity saved my Sunday
3. I set up a kiddie pool in my family room.
4. You need a few key items to make a giant rice pool really great
5. You’ll never guess how long my kids played with this for!
6. I promise their wasn’t a big mess either!
7. Would you try a giant rice pool in your house?
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Are you game to try this giant rice pool?

We were settling down to watch The Big Game and I suddenly saw the writing on the wall. No matter how much I wanted to watch this football game, my toddlers did not.

I promise I am a great mom, but sometimes, Momma needs to watch her football. So what I needed was the grand daddy of all toddler activities. The kind of toddler activity that will captivate them, wow them, and keep them entertained for at least a quarter of a game. A football mom can dream, right?

How this activity saved my Sunday

I was looking for a toddler activity that my kids could enjoy while I enjoyed the big game. I immediately thought of their favorite activity (their go to activity) a good ol’ fashion rice bin.

But that wouldn’t be enough. Remember how I said this was for The Big Game? Well we needed a Big Toddler Activity.

So I busted out my favorite container to build one giant activity inside of.

I set up a kiddie pool in my family room.

Nothing – and I mean nothing – grabs my kids’ attention more than when I put a kiddie pool inside the house. Sometimes I fill it with beans, sometimes with pom pom balls, and sometimes with rice.

Yes, rice. Plain dry nothing fancy rice.

I pulled our kiddie pool into the family room and filled it with rice, and you won’t believe how long my kids played for!

You need a few key items to make a giant rice pool really great

In order to make this activity something really special, I added a few key ingredients to this activity.

Materials:
(this list contains affiliate links)

• kiddie pool
• dry, uncooked rice – I used about 4 lbs worth
• Measuring cups (I have a set I keep just for the kids to use)
• Mini construction trucks
• Tools (we love these the most)
• Jars

My goal was to make this an irresistible set up for my toddlers. I didn’t want them to just sit and play for a few minutes – I was looking to hold their attention for a good long while. Pouring rice into a bin and hoping they will stick around to play wasn’t going to cut it.

You’ll never guess how long my kids played with this for!

Thanks to adding in loads of jars and scoops, my daughter was hooked. She’s 24 months old so scooping and pouring are a big deal in her world. She loves scooping up the rice and dumping it into jars.

For my son (3.5 years), I made sure to load up the little construction vehicles so he could play construction site – his absolute favorite.

My kids played with their giant rice pool for 30 minutes and went back for more later on doing the game. I was blown away! This bin ended up being just as irresistible as I wanted it to be.

I promise their wasn’t a big mess either!

I know that sensory activities can be scary, especially messy ones and especially ones in the family room! So how do I manage it? Well, I’ve made sure to teach my kids about sensory bins and how to play with them (you can read about it here).

Rice is such a low commitment sensory material – it’s not messy and it vacuums easily. I’m fine with a few minutes to vacuum if it’ll keep my kids occupied!

Would you try a giant rice pool in your house?

This grand daddy of all toddler activities certainly lived up to it’s billing and this Momma got to watch her beloved football game. And all it took was putting a kiddie pool of rice in my family room. Think you’re game to try this?