Are you looking for something simple to do with your toddler/preschooler today? Why don’t you color some rice?!
What Cha Need:
- Rice
- Food Coloring
- Ziploc Bags
How Ya Make It:
All you do is add a few drops of food coloring to a cup (or more) of rice. Then mix. The more color you add the darker and wetter the rice will be. Let dry (and test before using). I usually make it on the fly so I don’t over do it on the color because I need it to dry quickly.
You can also mix food coloring in a Ziploc bag first to make fun colors (like purple). Then just shake the rice in the bag. I think this method is actually easier than mixing in a bowl, but it doesn’t dry as well.
So… what can you do with colored rice? Well you can make rice art, trace letters and numbers in it, or just play with it like it’s sand (that’s a favorite around here). As a mom sometimes it’s fun to just let them play with things they normally wouldn’t be allowed to touch. It makes me feel all cool and stuff 
I’ll be sure to update you with pics of what we did with our rice! Feel free to link up your posts if this inspired you to play with your food!
This could also be a great in exercise teaching "conservation of volume"–a tall skinny container and a short fat container which each actually holds the same volume. The child can pour back and forth. This might also be a lesson in primary colors and color mixing–what color do you get if you add red AND blue?