Wednesday, September 5, 2012

New Series: Playing Through Autumn + Autumn Rainbow Rice

Autumn is my absolute FAVORITE season. It is such a feast for the senses - all the beautiful colors, the rich scents and flavors, the crisp air and the crunch of leaves. I am absolutely ecstatic to share all the wonders of the season with L this year (hard to believe she was barely walking at this time last year!). So I bring to you (with an abundance of pride and enthusiasm) our new series, Playing Through Autumn. Packed full of activities and experiences for really sharing the joys of autumn with all the wee ones in your life, it promises to be a pumpkin-flavored, orange-tinted, crisp breeze-filled adventure! Join us, won't you?

Playing Through Autumn {Day 1}: Rainbow Rice with an Autumn Flair!

For anyone who has been reading our adventures here, you know that I am a huge fan of sensory activities. One of L's favorite sensory materials is rainbow rice, which is super easy to make and so much fun! You simply put uncooked rice into a small Ziploc bag, add a glug or two of rubbing alcohol (it makes the colors really vibrant and helps the rice to dry quickly) and enough food coloring to get the color and brightness you desire and voila - instant sensory material! Just shake the bag to coat the rice evenly in the color and lay on waxed paper to dry.



For our autumn tub, I decided to go with orange, yellow, and red rice. Although most of the trees in our area are still green, I have begun hinting to L at the changes that will soon be upon us. 


For this particular sensory tub, I decided to add bowls, cups, and measuring cups - perfect for scooping and pouring. Now I can easily engage L in some conversation about all of the beautiful colors we'll soon be seeing, while she is happily engaged in one of her favorite activities.

There's more to come! Stick with us for many more engaging and creative autumn activities in the coming days and weeks!

12 comments:

  1. I love that you are doing a Playing Through Autumn series. That is a wonderful idea. The colors came out beautifully in you rice, both separate and mixed. Thanks for sharing on Artsy Play Wednesday on Capri + 3.

    : 0 ) Theresa

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  2. This is really cute, I love the autumn colors!

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  3. We have yet to color rice around here, and Autumn seems the perfect time to do it with all of the beautiful colors that represent the season. Thanks for sharing this! :)

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  4. How fun!! I love the colors!
    Thanks for sharing with my Super Link Party! :-)

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  5. I love the autumn colors - so pretty!

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  6. Such a great idea! I love fall too. I just barely learned how to color rice, so we'll have to try this out soon.

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  7. OH, how fun!! What a great idea to do autumn colors. Thank you for sharing at Happy Family Times!!

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  8. Wow those are really fun! I can't wait to make this for my little guy! Thanks so much for sharing this at the Weekend Wonders link party! Hope to see you back on Thursday Have a great day :)

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  9. Thank you for sharing on Sharing Saturday!!

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  10. I love the sensory bin! Thanks for sharing at the Sunday Showcase. :)

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  11. I love colored rice! Did you know you can create an autumn smell by adding a couple of table spoons of cinnamon to the rice? ;) Have fun!

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  12. I have featured this on The Sunday Showcase this week: http://www.herecomethegirlsblog.com/2012/09/15/the-sunday-showcase-autumn-inspiration.html

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