Great activity for 2ish year olds!

[Mashi]

Not sure what age range this would fit, really - DS is 22 months and I suspect maybe a couple of months ago he would have enjoyed this as well but not toooo much younger or it would have been disaster (ie/ at 18 months)....and prob up to 3-4 years old would enjoy...

I put down a large white sheet (spare double bed duvet cover) on the living room floor and dumped the following on top --

- half a bag of risotto rice
- half a bag of long grain rice
- bag of tiny ABC pasta
- bag of sesame seeds

And gave him various tiny pots and plastic cups, miniature spoons, measuring spoons and cups, a small plastic funnel, a couple of random things like an empty tic tac box, etc.  A few of his toy cars added into the mix and presto -- 2 hours, yes 2 HOURS of not a sound.  Just playing.  Nicely.   

When finished I had him help me scoop the mixture up into a large ziploc baggie and tucked it away for the next time - which has now been 3 days in a row (raining here) and each time gets a good hour + of play.  The mixture does not get ground into the carpet like sand would and a very quick run with the vacuum and any strays are gone. 

 

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

Excellent idea for a rainy day! I've had Masyn do water play with a big old rubbermaid tub, but haven't tried rice/pasta yet. (of course we have a fenced in yard, and I send them out even if it is raining a bit, but in the winter time we need some variety)

Now, I'm assuming he didn't try to eat it? hmmm...might have to do a test run with a small bowlful for Spencer, I have a weird feeling she might eat it.

[Mashi]

Yep, of course he tried to eat it!! But, the great thing is, it's all food, non toxic, edible stuff, but a nasty texture and awful taste. So one spoonful shovelled in and I did not need to worry about it being toxic or harmful and he hated it and so spat it right back out!!

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

lol...but I'm not sure the texture would deter her, the kid eats cardboard and I caught her the other day actually gnawing on a wooden puzzle board (like a rabbit, and she actually was eating the wood!) 

Too bad it's a holiday today, the only pasta I have in the house is spaghetti...I'll have to do some shopping tomorrow!

[~ Vik ~]

Oooooo! Dylan's a little young for this yet, but this is a great idea for when the weather gets cold in the winter! Thanks!!

[~ Vik ~]

What would you dye it with? Food colouring?

[Mashi]

Never thought about dyeing it, might look into that.  The reason I added the pasta and sesame seeds was to give it a bit of "colour" rather than just be plain white rice (and it made it look a sandy colour) but he would probably love to dye it!!

[~ Vik ~]

That's great!!  Thank you!

[We Three]

That is awesome Mashi....I think some Montessouri nurseries do rice and pasta tables too!   Along these lines, my friend told me a long time ago that her ds does not have sand in his sandbox, but rather what is called pea-gravel, which is normally used in landscaping, and looks just like it sounds!  Less mess, and she said he'd sit for hours with his dump-trucks and stuff!

Totally gonna try this on the next rainy day!  DD is older, but very tactile and I think she'd really like it! 

[kimbo613]

I've actually done this with DS at about 14mo or so, though he only did about 20-30 min before he was bored.  Can't believe you got 2 hours!
I used an old shower curtain and put the rice in one of those plastic underbed storage things with a lid.  Makes it kind of like a sandbox and he can bury things, and I just tuck it under his crib when finished.  I have done it on carpet and in the kitchen, depending on when I'll be sweeping/vaccuuming.  His favorite thing to do is to dump a cup of rice from standing and watch it go everywhere

[*Becky*]

thanks - great idea. DS does eat everything but like you said it is non-toxic. Going to try it x

[~*Nicole*~]

LOVE this idea!

[katie80]

Oh, I like this a lot too and all things in the pantry.  Thanks for sharing!!

[nwmm]

Very cool.

We do that with rice.  I keep it in some small air tight containers.  Take out a ton of things for them to poor and scoop with.  Gets really messy, but they love it. 

[alohahellokitty]

Wow, these are great ideas!! Thanks everyone!