When it is super cold outside I tend to run out of ideas on what to do with the kids. Here are three super simple, quick and easy crafts for the kids with items you might have on hand already.
#1 Colored Rice
Materials needed:
White rice
White vinegar
Food coloring
Ziploc bag
Cookie sheet
We combined 3 cups of rice with 3 tablespoons of white vinegar in gallon ziploc bags.
I then let the boys add in their drops of food coloring. They each did about 10 drops in each of their bags. When doing this, we had the neon food coloring on hand which worked just fine. For more vibrant colors I would recommend the gel food coloring.
Then shake the bag! The boys loved this part!
I then gave each of them a cookie sheet to dump their rice on to dry. Waiting for it to dry was the hardest part for them because they just wanted to play with it. I let it dry overnight before letting them play.
The next morning I let them at it! They grabbed their trucks and diggers and I was surprised at how long this actually kept my busy boys occupied!
I would recommend a bin or a cake pan instead of a cookie sheet when letting them play. It is hard for a 3 and a 5 year old to keep all that rice on a cookie sheet!
#2 Bowling Pins
When you are done with the colored rice you can store it in containers or ziploc bags to play with later.
OR, you can make bowling pins!
For this we used 1 liter sparkling water bottles that my 5 year old grabbed from the recycling bin. Any size would work.
We took a funnel and filled the bottle ¼ of the way with rice and twisted the top on really tight.
That’s it! Time to go bowling down the hallway!
We don’t have a bowling ball, but our soccer ball worked just fine!
#3 Snow Paint
Materials needed:
Food coloring
Plastic condiment bottles
Water
For this project we didn’t have the plastic bottles on hand so we grabbed some from the dollar store. Let the kiddos pick what color they want to “paint” with and simply mix a few drops of food coloring and water in the condiment bottle.
As soon as I gave these to the boys they started drawing in the snow and had a blast with it.
Even my 18 month old was having fun with it!
Be prepared to make a few batches!
What are some fun food coloring crafts you have done with your kids?!