Introducing Rainbow Rice

Colored rice is really, really easy to make and much cheaper than buying it already made --trust me, i've officially done both and making your own is the way to go! 

You'll need regular rice, not the quick cooking rice, rubbing alcohol, food coloring and ziplock baggies.

Starting out you'll use a couple to a few Tablespoons of rubbing alcohol with a few to several drops of what ever color of food coloring you choose. Its not a real science, you'll just need to eyeball it and you'll add just enough rubbing alcohol to wet all of the rice in the baggie with the colored mixture --just remember to add the alcohol and food coloring first followed by the rice. If you find that there needs to be more liquid then slowly add extra alcohol. 

If its a sunny day, close up the bags and lay them out in the sun, that'll help quicken the absorption. They can dry inside too, it may just take a little longer to dry.

When I finally opened our baggies the smell of alcohol was really strong so I poured them into cake pans and let them have another day of airing out before I let the girls stick their hands into the rice.

I used a twenty-five pound bag of rice that I bought from Sams Club. You can go further and buy a fifty pound bag or smaller, it all depends on what your going to use your rice for, we'll use our for a substitute for sand and for sensory play with Vada. 

I made the rice on Friday and tonight (Sunday) I let the girls mix it all up. They all enjoyed running their hands through the soft colored rice, well, V didn't so much enjoy it as much as her sisters did but she was interested enough to keep trying it out. 

She would stick her hands in the rice then quickly remove them, then yell at the rice, then she would repeat herself and do it all over again. 

Funny little girl.

Jasmine and Kiliegh surprised me with their own interest in the rice. Sometimes I just figure that they'll think these sorts of things are too young for them but they enjoyed this just as much as I hoped V would which makes my heart happy and just goes to show that the simplest of things can be just as entertaining (if not more) than the electronics and high priced gadgets.