Making your own rainbow rice (or in our case, unicorn rice) couldn’t be easier! Kids absolutely LOVE playing with this simple dyed rice, and the best part: once you’ve made a few colorful batches, you can use your colored rice again and again for endless sensory play.
How to Make Rainbow Rice; a.k.a., Unicorn Rice (Sensory Play for Toddlers and Kids)
I’m not entirely sure what took me so long, but I finally jumped on the rainbow rice bandwagon and it was a huge hit with our kids!
This DIY kids activity is surprisingly simple to make. In all honesty, I was picturing this whole complicated dyeing process, but in truth, coloring the rice is really easy (and a fun activity in and of itself!)
Plus, once you’ve made a big batch of colorful sensory rice, you can use it again and again and in so many fun sensory play activities for your little ones.
See Also → This Huge List of Fun and Educational Activities to do at Home With Young Kids + Our Favorite Kids Activities on Amazon
Rainbow rice; a.k.a., rice dyed different colors, is easier to clean up than sand, but kids love playing with it just as much. Admittedly, playing with dried rice is always going to be messier than say, playing with Legos, but we’ve learned to either play with our rainbow rice on the front porch or in the play area on a large mat (which I just quickly vacuum when the girls are done playing.) I also love rainbow rice because it’s all non-toxic and safe, though I’d advise playing with this with toddlers who no longer put every single thing in their mouths. 🤣
Since we made this rainbow unicorn rice, we dyed a second batch of rice blue and made our own sensory mermaid bins (which I’ll be sure to share soon!)
Meanwhile, this is definitely the SIMPLEST recipe for rainbow rice that I’ve found and it works like a charm every time. 🙌🏻
We went with three colors – turquoise, purple, and pink – and the girls deemed it “unicorn rice”! 🦄
How to Dye Rainbow Rice
To make each batch of colored rice, all you need to do is combine one cup of uncooked white rice + 1 tablespoon of white vinegar + drops squirts of food coloring.
I like to dump all three of the ingredients in a freezer zip-top bag. Once everything is in the bag, seal it, and mix everything together. (You can also shake everything up in a resealable container, like Tupperware.)
Once you’ve mixed up the ingredients well – until all of the rice is coated and colored – lay it to dry on a paper plate or with the bag or container open, so that it dries well. Repeat this process for as many colors as you want.
How to Play With Rainbow Rice
Once all of your colors are dry, put the rainbow rice into a large open plastic container (preferably one with a lid – like this one – so that you can seal it up for next time’s sensory play!) for your kids to play in.
Then add in all of the toys and manipulatives: funnels, squeezy tweezers (great for fine motor development!), large scoops, measuring cups and spoons, ice cream scoop, small plastic toys, etc.
Try out rainbow rice themes; i.e., when using unicorn rice, throw in a handful of plastic unicorns, and plenty of scoops, or make a dinosaur rice sensory bin with plastic dinosaurs, trees, rocks, and shovels, or go with a sea theme using plastic sea creatures, mermaids, and shells, the list goes on and on.
How Long Can I Keep the Rainbow Rice?
The best part about this craft is that once you’ve dyed and dried the colored rice, it will last and last. Just keep it in a large zip-top bag or container with a lid and store it in between use and you’ve got a big batch of colorful rainbow rice for the long haul.
Making your own rainbow rice couldn’t be easier! Kids LOVE playing with this simple dyed rice, and the best part: once you’ve made a few colorful batches, you can use your colored rice again and again for sensory play. Once you’re ready to play (and your colorful rice is completely dry - usually takes about an hour), put the rainbow rice into a large open plastic container for your kids to play in. Then add in all of the toys and manipulatives: funnels, scoops, measuring cups and spoons, ice cream scoop, small plastic toys, etc. Watch as their imaginations soar! 
How to Make Rainbow Rice
Materials
Instructions
Notes
Playing with rainbow rice seriously captivates my girls’ attention every single time I take it out for play. I’ve also mixed it up, by creating themed rainbow rice bins, like an ocean-themed rainbow rice bin (more on that later!), and each and every one of those twists on rainbow rice play become an instant hit with the kids.
SHOP THE RAINBOW UNICORN RICE SENSORY PLAY ACTIVITY | CLICK LEFT & RIGHT ARROWS TO EXPLORE
In case you find yourself stuck at home with your kids, be sure to check out this huge list of fun and educational activities for young children, plus this post with all of our favorite kids activities on Amazon.
IF YOU LOVED THIS POST, YOU CAN SEE MORE OF OUR LIFE WITH TWO LITTLE ONES HERE AND ALL OF OUR KIDS ACTIVITIES AND CRAFTS HERE.
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