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How to Dye Noodles for Sensory Play

four trays. One with red macaroni, another with yellow, another with green, and the other with blue.

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Remember the days of making macaroni necklaces at school to present to your mom for Mother’s Day? Coloured pasta is just as fun now as it was back then! Once you learn how to dye noodles, you can use them for sensory play or a variety of other activities with kids. trays of red, yellow, green, and blue macaroni noodles with text that reads "How to Dye Pasta for Sensory Play"In our house, we do a lot of sensory play. I keep a variety of materials on hand for this including dyed noodles and dyed rice. Read our instructions on how to dye rice.

How to Dye Noodles:

Supplies needed:

  • macaroni noodles (or other small noodle)
  • food colouring*
  • rubbing alcohol or white vinegar
  • plastic resealable sandwich bags (you’ll need one for each colour that you want to make
  • paper towel lined baking tray

*A note about the food colouring: You can use regular food colouring or for more vibrant colours, you can use Wilton food gel.

four trays. One with red macaroni, another with yellow, another with green, and the other with blue.Directions:

  1. Add 1 cup of dry noodles to each zipper bag. Do not seal the bags yet.
  2. Pour 1 Tbsp. rubbing alcohol or 2 tsp. vinegar into each bag.
  3. Into each bag, drop 10-20 drops of one colour of food colouring.
  4. Seal the bag well.
  5. Mix the noodles around in the bag by moving with your hands and shaking gently until they are is evenly coloured.
  6. Open the bags and pour each colour of macaroni (or other noodle shape) onto a tray to dry.
  7. Check on the macaroni noodles during the drying process and stir around to ensure the noodles are drying properly. It can take several hours for them to dry. I usually leave mine overnight to be sure.
  8. The coloured noodles are now ready to be used in sensory play.
  9. When not in use, store your dyed pasta in an airtight container or sealed bag. 

dry noodles in a clear plastic bag being dyed red, yellow, green, and blueYou can now use your brightly coloured noodles for art activities, preschool crafts, stringing onto yarn to make a necklace, or all kinds of sensory play. Dyed noodles make a great sensory bin filler or can be used in sensory bags or sensory bottles. You can make a simple sensory bottle by filling an empty bottle with coloured noodles or you can make an I-Spy type bottle by “hiding” other items in among the noodles for kids to find. 

clear bottle filled with red, yellow, green, and blue macaroni noodles on a blue backgroundThis method can be used to dye pasta of any shape. For larger noodles, you may find that you need slightly more food colouring. I find that you get the best colour results from using small pastas such as orzo, mini shells, Alphabet noodles, and macaroni. 

Some schools don’t allow food to be used in classrooms for play. If that’s the case, we also have a list of non-food sensory bin fillers.

Looking for other sensory play recipes to create fun options for your kids? Join us for a free five day email series on Sensory Activities and Solutions and get a free sample of our Sensory Play Recipes eBook.

You may also want to read:

How to Dye Rice for Sensory Playseven metal trays each with a different colour of rice on it

Frog Sensory Bin with Dyed Pastared pasta with bright toy frogs and green lily pads in a bin

Sensory Bin Fillers and Toolscollage of bright coloured sensory bins

Cool Camo Fluffy Slime

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One of my daughters loves camo anything. She wears it, doodles it, dreams it. So I thought it would be fun to make this cool camo fluffy slime with her. toy soldier in army green slime pile. Text reads "Fluffy Camo Slime"There are so many fun play options with this camo fluffy slime recipe. It also makes a great party favour for birthday parties too. When my middle son was younger, he had an army theme birthday party and I wish I’d had this recipe back then.

Camo Fluffy Slime Recipe:

Supplies needed:

  • 2 cups white school glue (I find that Elmer’s school glue works the best for slime recipes.)
  • 2 cups foaming hand wash
  • 2 cups shaving cream
  • 2 tsp. lotion
  • 2 tsp. cornstarch
  • green paint
  • darker green paint
  • tan paint
  • black paint
  • 2 tsp. baking soda
  • 4 Tbsp. contact solution
  • optional: toy soldiers

Directions:

  1. Pour 2 cups of white glue in a large bowl.
  2. Add 2 cups of foaming hand wash.
  3. Scoop in 2 cups of shaving cream. 
  4. Mix with a spatula until smooth.
  5. Divide this mixture into 4 smaller bowls.
  6. Into each of the bowls, add ½ tsp. each of lotion and cornstarch. Mix.
  7. Using the paint, tint each bowl a different colour. You will end up with a green, dark green, tan and black.
  8. Add ½ tsp. baking soda to each of the bowls and stir.
  9. Lastly, add 1 Tbsp. of contact solution to each and stir until it pulls away from the side of the bowl. It is best to do this full step on each bowl before moving on to the next.
  10. Knead the slimes until they are no longer sticky.
  11. Once all of the slimes are kneaded, stretch your slimes out and then combine them into one blob. 
  12. If you want to, you can add in some plastic toy soldiers.
  13. Play.

At first, the slime will have that marbled camouflage look but of course, eventually with play, the colours will combine. When this happens, your slime should turn an army green which is also a lot of fun.

By kneading and stretching, pulling, pinching, and squishing, kids will engage their proprioceptive sensory system with this slime. It also involves their visual and tactile sensory systems.

Looking for more easy sensory play recipes? Join us for a free five day email series on Sensory Activities and Solutions and get a free of our Sensory Play Recipes eBook.

Check out some of our most popular slime recipes:

Unicorn Fluffy Slime

Shark Edible Slime

Textured Butter Slime

Sensory Lego Letters Preschool Activity

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This is one of those easy to set up activities that packs in a lot of learning. Lego Letters playdough activity combines fine motor, sensory, and letter recognition practise into one simple preschool activity.purple dough with a little hand pressing a Lego piece in to create an A. Text reads "Lego Letters alphabet and fine motor"

Sensory Lego Alphabet Activity: 

Supplies needed:

Directions:

  1. Make the playdough into a ball and roll it out.
  2. Set out a selection of Lego bricks.
  3. Select several letters to practice.
  4. Choose one letter to start. Encourage your child to say the letter, then stamp the shape of the letter using Legos. 
  5. After your child completes one letter, have them roll the playdough smoothly again and try to recreate another letter.

It can be helpful to start this activity with letters your child is most familiar with such as the letter their first name starts with. 

With curved letters, it can be best to use smaller Lego pieces.Be sure to allow your child to come up with their own way to stamp the letter in the playdough. As long as they get the basic shape of the letter, there is no “right” or “wrong” way to create it. It can be tempting to step in and show them and you may need to show them how to do one as an example, but once they get the idea, step back and allow them to create. 

Ways to expand this activity:

  1. Talk to the child about what the sound of that letter is and have them see if they can think of words that have that letter as their beginning sound.
  2. Numbers or shapes can be stamped into the playdough.
  3. Sing the alphabet song.
  4. Set out books about the alphabet.

Chicka Chicka Boom BoomChicka Chicka Boom BoomChicka Chicka Boom BoomDr. Seuss's ABCDr. Seuss’s ABCDr. Seuss's ABCAnimalia (MY PERSONAL FAVOURITE!)Animalia (MY PERSONAL FAVOURITE!)Animalia (MY PERSONAL FAVOURITE!)Touch and Trace ABC Board BookTouch and Trace ABC Board BookTouch and Trace ABC Board BookA is for Apple (Kids Trace-and-Flip)A is for Apple (Kids Trace-and-Flip)A is for Apple (Kids Trace-and-Flip)The Handmade AlphabetThe Handmade AlphabetThe Handmade AlphabetEating the AlphabetEating the AlphabetEating the AlphabetM Is For Maple: A Canadian AlphabetM Is For Maple: A Canadian AlphabetM Is For Maple: A Canadian Alphabet

 

You may be interested in some of our other preschool learning ideas:

Alphabet Sensory Bin

Thankfulness Bingo Style Game

Rainbow Playdough Counting and Colours Game

The Best Butter Slime Recipes

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Butter Slime gets its name from its buttery texture. Some make it yellow in colour as a play on the name. One of the things I like about butter slime is that most recipes don’t stick. As a mom, this is a big selling point!collage of different colours and shapes of slime. Text reads "The Best Butter Slime Recipes"I thought it might be helpful for those who are looking to try this kind of sensory fun if I put together a list of the best recipes out there for this type of slime. If you’re feeling really ambitious, you may even want to make several of the recipes and see which one is your favourite. 

If you’re new to this kind of thing, check out our Complete Guide to Making Slime for tips and tricks to help you get the best results possible. That can also help you troubleshoot if you run into any issues.

The Best Butter Slime Recipes

Textured Butter Slime

The smoothness of the slime contrasts with the textured beads to create an awesome sensory experience.

Photo Credit: www.thebestideasforkids.com

Butter Slime

This butter slime has a moldable and fluffy like texture to it!

Photo Credit: littlebinsforlittlehands.com

How To Make Butter Slime Without Clay

Butter slime without the soft clay! No clay is needed for this butter slime with an incredible texture that uses a simple kitchen ingredient instead!

Photo Credit: sugarspiceandglitter.com

Moldable Model Magic Slime

This moldable - not messy - slime is perfect for kids who love to SQUISH!

Photo Credit: www.steampoweredfamily.com

Harry Potter Model Magic Butter Slime Recipe

Harry Potter Butter Slime - embrace the magic of your favourite Hogwarts House with these vibrant and fun butter slime recipes.

Photo Credit: www.funwithmama.com

How To Make Butter Slime Recipe

A simple and easy butter slime recipe that the kids are going to love! No clay or playdough in this one.

Butter slime ingredients vary from recipe to recipe. Here are some of the common ones (though obviously not all of these go into one recipe!):

Crayola Model MagicCrayola Model MagicCrayola Model MagicAir Dry ClayAir Dry ClayAir Dry ClayPlay-DohPlay-DohPlay-DohFoam Balls for SlimeFoam Balls for SlimeFoam Balls for SlimeSaline SolutionSaline SolutionSaline SolutionShaving CreamShaving CreamShaving CreamElmer's White GlueElmer’s White GlueElmer's White GlueBaby OilBaby OilBaby OilBaby LotionBaby LotionBaby Lotion

 

Safety tips:

  1. Adults should always handle the ingredients as there may be chemicals.
  2. Adult supervision should be used both when making or playing with any sensory recipe.
  3. Do not lick or eat the slime or any of the ingredients.
  4. Always wash hands before and after play.
  5. Those with skin sensitivity should wear gloves and long sleeves when playing with their slime and if a rash or skin irritation develops, discontinue play immediately.
  6. When not in play, store properly in an airtight container.

Now that you’re armed with ideas to make this smooth, stretchy slime, you’ll have to give it a try and see what you think!

Check out some of our most popular slimes:

How to Dye Rice for Sensory Play

seven metal trays each with a different colour of rice on it

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You can easily make your own colourful rice for sensory play at home or in your preschool or classroom. This recipe for dying rice doesn’t use rubbing alcohol, making it safer in case you have kids who put things in their mouth. Simply follow our instructions for how to dye rice. metal trays with purple, green, pink, blue, yellow, and orange rice. Text reads "How to Dye Rice for sensory play"Rice is one of my favourite sensory bin fillers. I always make extra of the green because I find that it looks like grass which makes it versatile for all kinds of sensory bins, bottles, and bags.

How to Dye Rice:

Supplies needed:

  • 1 cup white rice per colour
  • 1/2 tsp. vinegar per colour
  • coloured food gel or food colouring
  • optional: essential oils*

Wilton Food GelWilton Food GelWilton Food GelWhite VinegarWhite VinegarWhite VinegarWhite RiceWhite RiceWhite Rice

 

Directions:

  1. Put 1 cup of rice in a resealable plastic bag. 
  2. Add 1/2 tsp. of vinegar and a bit of the icing gel or food colouring. You won’t get colours that are as vibrant if you use food colouring as opposed to the gel. If you want to add essential oil, add a few drops at this point.
  3. Seal the bag and shake well.
  4. Spread the coloured rice out on a baking tray to dry overnight. 
  5. Repeat with other colours.
  6. Use in sensory play.

*A note about the essential oils:

Adding essential oil to the rice will create an extra sensory element as it creates olfactory (scent) input. There are some scents that are calming such as lavender, jasmine, or rose. Other scents are alerting such as lemon, peppermint, or cinnamon. 

You will want to choose the essential oil based on what you are trying to achieve. In a setting where you want your child to be learning, you may want to choose an alerting scent. If you are wanting to create more calming sensory play opportunities, then you’ll want to choose a calming scent for the rice. When not in use, be sure to store your coloured rice in a sealed plastic bag or an airtight container. You can reuse it over and over again as long as it’s properly stored.

Ways to use coloured rice in sensory play:

Coloured rice can be used in a variety of sensory play activities. If you use more than one colour at a time, the colours will obviously combine through play and create a different look altogether. That’s not a bad thing, but if you have a child prone to getting upset by things not looking the way they think they should, this is something you should warn them about before they begin to engage with their sensory play. 

Here are some ideas:

  • Use coloured rice in a sensory bottle along with some small buttons or toys to create a Seek and Find Discovery Bottle. 
  • Create a rainbow effect by lining up different colours in a sensory tub. Add some scoops and funnels for kids to explore and work on their fine motor skills by scooping and pouring.
  • Use green rice to look like grass for insect, butterfly, Spring, or other outdoor themed sensory bins.
  • Fill a resealable bag about halfway full with coloured rice and then add some small toys or alphabet letters to create an I-Spy type sensory bag.
  • Layer different colours in a jar or bottle.
  • Fill a plastic bottle with some of the rice and leave some space at the top to create a music shaker. 

Other helpful information about sensory play:

Looking for more easy sensory play recipes to use with your kids? Join us for a free five day email series on Sensory Activities and Solutions and get a free sample of our Sensory Play Recipes eBook.

Ocean Sensory Bag

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When you can’t go to the ocean, bring it to you! That’s the sentiment behind this ocean sensory bag. It brings the feeling of the sea right into your home. thumbs squish a bag with blue gel with a toy shark inside. Text reads "Ocean Sensory Bag"

Ocean Sensory Bag:

Supplies needed:

Directions:

  1. Fill a small or medium sized resealable plastic bag less than halfway with hand sanitizer or hair gel. 
  2. Add some blue food gel. If you don’t have any, you can substitute drops of food colouring.
  3. Sprinkle in some blue glitter.
  4. Add the mini figures from the ocean pack.
  5. Seal.
  6. Squish to combine and especially to mix the colour in. 
  7. Open the bag again to remove any excess air and seal again.
  8. If you want, you can fold duct tape over all four edges of the bag to secure. 
  9. Hand the bag to your child to play with.

Whether or not you secure the bag with duct tape, adult supervision should be used as this contains small parts that could present a choking hazard.

This ocean sensory bag pairs well with an ocean unit study. It’s a nice hands-on activity for kids who are interested in learning about sea life creatures. They can explore and discover through finding each of the aquatic animals.

If you want to expand this activity, you can write down the names of each of the items in the bag and have your child find each one and call out its name. They will delight in discovering the sea turtle, starfish, stingray, dolphin, shark, and fish.

Children get tactile, visual, and proprioceptive sensory input while playing with their sensory bag. 

Looking for more easy sensory play recipes to cultivate fun? Join us for a free five day email series on Sensory Activities and Solutions and get a free of our Sensory Play Recipes eBook.

Try out some of these other ocean themed sensory activities:

Seaside Sensory Bin

Squishy Shark Sensory Bag

Ocean Sensory Bottle