Colored Rice Art
By Brenda Hyde
When little ones are still at home whiletheir brothers or sisters are in school all dayparents need easy crafts to occupy them andgive the day some structure.They often feel left out and having a crafttime each day makes little ones feel like they aren't missing the fun. Here is an easy and frugal craft activity that will do the trick:
Colored Rice Art
You'll need:uncooked white rice
food coloring
white vinegar
non-toxic glue
cardboard or paper
pencil
Place 1/2 cup rice into a clean butter bowl or otherrecycled container. Add 5 drops of food coloring and 1/2 tsp. vinegar to set the color. Mix around until therice has colored. Spread rice flat onto a baking sheet covered with foil or parchment paper. Bake at 200 degrees for 45 minutes to dry the rice. You can make more than one color at the same time. Keep the colorsseparate and in one layer on the cookie sheet. Afterthey are dry and have cooled, place each color in a snack size plastic bag and seal.
PROJECTS: You can use these to make mosaicpictures with the kids. Have them draw a shape ora simple picture and then glue the rice onto the shape, using patches of different colors or creatinga pattern of some sort. You can write their namein fat letters that they can fill in with the rice. Usethis to teach colors also by asking them to usecertain colors on certain sections of a picture. Createan interesting bookmark by cutting a 2 inch by 6-8inch long piece of cardboard and have them glue therice on the cardboard till it's full. Carefully cover thecardboard on both sides with clear Contact paper.Trim the edges and they have a neat bookmark!
About the Author
Brenda Hyde is a mom to three and lives with her husbandand children in the Midwestern United States. She is afreelance writer and editor of OldFashionedLiving.com
