Bug and Insect Rice Sensory Bin

We had our first gnat attack on a walk today, so that means spring is officially here! It is finally warming up a bit in Michigan and although I would love a 60-degree day, I’ll take low-mid 40s over the single digits. With warmer temperatures always comes bugs and insects. Our oldest had a phase of being very afraid of anything flying and our 3-year-old is currently going through the same thing. She is afraid of bugs or anything vaguely resembling a bug, like a piece of black fuzz from a sock or a stray woodchip that got carried inside.

To help demystify these little creatures, I wanted to highlight some in a sensory bin. The kids thought this was super fun and actually really loved playing with the pretend bugs. We had a lot of conversations about which bugs would bite people and which ones would leave us alone. We also had a chance to discuss how each bug helps our garden, our flowers, the dirt, or provide food for birds and other animals.

*Note: I am not an entomologist, so please excuse any misuse of bug vs insect terminology.*

We made a fresh batch of colored rice because we wanted green, but you can use plain or any other color. It doesn’t take long to make a new color if you want to feel extra spring-y.

Here’s What You Need

• Rice- use this tutorial to make your own colored rice. We used my favorite food coloring to make green and it was fantastic!

• Sensory bin

• Bug and butterfly toys

• Utensils- these tongs are adorable, we also used scoops, cups, bowls, and a spatula.

Tip- use a fitted sheet to create a small boxed in area if your child tends to get rice out of the bin.

Set up

2 minutes

1. Make your rice if you don’t have any on hand. I like to let mine air out outside for at least a few hours or even overnight. It helps dissipate the smell. You can use plain rice if you don’t have time to add food coloring.

2. Add the bugs, rice, and utensils to the sensory bin.

Clean Up

3-5 minutes

1. Collect the bugs. I store ours in one of these bags and it is perfect! I am recently obsessed with these and store just about every toy or game I can in them now.

2. Collect your rice and store it in a zip top bag or a food storage container.

3. Vacuum any stray rice and rinse out the sensory bin. We always have a few stray pieces leftover.

4. Wash or shake out your sheet if you used one.

Even with some rice leaving the bin, clean up was so quick thanks to the fitted sheet!

I love sensory play and I love using play to help work through some apprehension or fears. This combination works perfectly for the bug sensory bin. I left the bugs out for a few days and it prompted some fun play, such as hiding the bugs on dad’s chair before dinner or talking about the ways different bugs hide.

I don’t always use the fitted sheet trick, but Ellette is still learning how to keep the rice in the bin and Vaila loves to fill up every single cup. I wanted to be able to step away for just a few seconds without having to clean up a lot of rice off the floor, so I opted to bless my future self and used a fitted sheet to create a contained area. You can set up your own sensory bin containment area in 1 minute- grab a fitted sheet and flip it upside down. Anchor the corners with heavy items- we used the kid’s table. a Costco pack of olives, a jug of oil, and some other bottle or canned items. You can use the legs of a chair with heavy things in the seat, books, etc. When you are done, just scoop up as much rice as you can and shake or vacuum out the rest.

One of the games I played with the kids was to bury a bug in the rice and encourage them to find it with their eyes closed. Vaila and I took turns being the bug hider and the bug finder and she thought it was hilarious when I couldn’t find the bugs. This was a wonderful way to introduce some novelty to a rice bin and rely on the sense of touch in an unfamiliar way. I also hid some of the bugs for Ellette, but at 18 months old she kept her eyes open to find them.

One of my favorite things about sensory bins is that I can set out one activity and a huge age range of kids can enjoy it in their own unique way. My older kids will occasionally play cooperatively with a rice bin, but usually it allows them to parallel play and still express their own creativity. The only argument we usually have about rice bins is there isn’t enough rice! I’ve been making 4-6 cups of each color recently, but I might have to bump up measurements. Our rice from last September is good as new and I have less vibrant rice (before I knew to add vinegar) from 4+ years ago that we still use, so you should get plenty of uses out of one batch.

The kids loved this activity and I hope you get a chance to try it out. I have a few other activities with the bugs on the supply list coming up soon, so be sure to check them out. I’ll be sure to add the links here once they hit the blog.

I am really rooting for no more snow this year, so maybe if we all just think spring vibes the temps will warm up for good. I’m definitely looking forward to eating more snacks and meals outside and not having to bundle everyone up just to check the mail! What is your favorite thing about spring? Let me know in the comments below.

Looking for other activities? Check these out:

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