Cinnamon sensory play is a wonderful treat for the once and wonderful tactile sensory play for the body! Rice sensory play is one of the simplest forms of tactile sensory play and is easy to put together quickly. We have been playing with rice sensory bins for several years and have a huge collection of best rice play ideas!
Cinnamon Rice Sensory Play
Cinnamon Sensory Play Set-Up
Scented sensory play is also a treat and our vanilla and cinnamon sensory rice play is perfect for Winter or the holidays! We also love our lemon-scented rice too!
Want to learn more about Sensory Bins? Read the Complete Sensory Bin Guide here.
Supplies Needed:
- Rice {I used brown and white rice} Approximately 4-6 cups of brown rice and 3 cups of white because that’s what I had available.
- Cinnamon
- Vanilla
- Water
- Gallon zip lock bag
- Cookie tray
- Sensory bin
- Scoop
- Bowl
- Themed items {cinnamon sticks and pinecones would be great too!}
Make Cinnamon Sensory Rice:
Step 1: Put brown rice in a bag and add about 1/2 tablespoon of cinnamon, 1/2 tablespoon of vanilla, and 1/2 tablespoon of water.
Step 2: Seal the bag and mix, shake, and knead with your fingers.
Step 3: Spread out on a cookie sheet, and it will be ready in about 10 minutes.
Step 4: Add to a sensory bin with white rice. Feel free to scent all the rice too! My son doesn’t care for strong scents so I thought adding the extra rice would spread out the scent a bit more.
Add any extra goodies for play! I had some gingerbread-themed buttons left over from another project and these scented cinnamon salt dough ornaments! We haven’t made this year’s ornaments yet! Keep it simple for plenty of tactile and olfactory sensory play opportunities.
Enjoy scooping and filling! We also enjoyed finding hidden items in the rice, so I hid all the buttons and told him there were 20 to find. Sneaky math skills!
Grab this free Fall Senses Leaf Craft Project too!
I set this out while I was preparing dinner on a small table near the kitchen. This cinnamon sensory play was a great way to keep him entertained while I was busy. Plus it was close enough for me to be able to hear his play!
When I came around to see what he was doing, pine cones and evergreen branches had found their way into the bin. He also picked out the book Gingerbread Mouse for us to read!
It’s fun to see what a child will come up with too! A sensory bin can be used in so many ways and is a beautiful opportunity to allow your child to explore what makes them happy!
Try to step back and watch as often as possible instead of direct. This will help increase independent play skills and confidence too! If your kids add something you didn’t initially put in, don’t take it out! Let them enjoy the sensory bin for themselves. There are so many hidden learning opportunities! Read more about the benefits of sensory bins here.
You might also like these Fall Theme Projects:
More Fun Sensory Bin Ideas
- Apple Sensory Bin
- Pumpkin Sensory Bin
- Dino Sensory Bin
- Butterfly Sensory Bin
- Ocean Sensory Bin
- Tropical Sensory Bin
Printable Preschool Pack
Get ready to explore this year with our growing Preschool STEM Bundle! Or grab the individual Preschool 5 Senses Pack.
What’s Included:
There are 5 fun preschool themes to get you started. This is an ” I can explore” series!
Each unit contains approximately 15 activities, with instructions and templates as needed. Hands-on activities are provided to keep it fun and exciting. This includes sensory bins, experiments, games, and more! Easy supplies keep it low cost and book suggestions add the learning time.
Fantastic!! I will be doing this with my 3 year olds for our gingerbread man theme coming up. Thank you for sharing the easy to do ideas.
Awesome idea! Where did you get the cool gingerbread house, star and Christmas tree buttons? Love it!
Thanks,
Miss Sharon
Just at our local craft store like Michaels!