Dyed pasta is easy to make and a fun, versatile sensory bin filler.
Sensory bins are my girls’ favorite ways to play. They just love the bright colors, running their hands through the sensory filler, and finding new ways to play with whatever is in the bin.
It’s easy to set up a sensory bin and easy for kids to play with them. Then you can just sit back, put your feet up, and just enjoy a quiet cup of coffee.
Aaah… now that’s the life.
Looking for an organized guide of fun, easy activities to do with your toddler that also encourages their growth and development?
I’ve created a 3-month activity planner just for busy parents like you! The plan includes 65 detailed, simple, and stress-free activities including: arts and crafts, sensory play, motor skills, and STEM–all using easy-to-find supplies.
Let me help make planning activities for your toddler easy, so you can skip the stress and get straight to the fun!
What Is a Sensory Bin?
A sensory bin is a big container filled with objects that stimulate one (or more) of the five senses: sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing.
It’s like a mini sandbox. Except it doesn’t have sand in it. Because then we would just call it a sandbox…
Typically a sensory bin is filled with a base or filler of small sensory items, such as rice, pom poms, water beads, or dry beans.
The last piece of the puzzle are fine motor tools. Basically anything kids can use to pick up, scoop, pour, or play with the sensory bin filler.
*If you’re new to sensory bins, get started with my full guide to sensory bins here.
Benefits of Sensory Play
Sensory play benefits should really be a post of its own, but I’ll give you a quick summary.
Kids primarily learn through their senses.
They NEED sensory stimulation every day, and often they can get enough stimulation through every day experiences: taking a bath, cooking with Mom and Dad, playing with leaves and sticks outside, exploring the playground.
Sometimes they need a little bit more. And if kids are struggling with SPD (sensory processing disorder) or has other special needs, then they need lots more opportunities for sensory play.
A sensory bin is one tool we can use to give our kids a multi-sensory experience right at home.
Sensory bins provide:
- open-ended play
- freedom to discover and learn at their own pace
- opportunities for language development
- fine motor skills practice
- critical thinking development through play
- an introduction to measurement and volume
And this is the short list!
If you’ve never tried making a sensory bin, dyed pasta is a great place to start.
How to Make Dyed Pasta for Sensory Play
You’ll need:
- dry pasta
- vinegar
- food coloring
- zip-top bag
- baking sheet (or other stain-proof tray)
First, pour a cup of dry pasta into a zip-top bag. Then add a teaspoon of vinegar and a bunch of food coloring.
Shake to mix. Then spread it out to dry on a paper-towel lined baking sheet or tray.
How to Set up a Colorful pasta Sensory bin
Disclosure: We use sponsored, or affiliate, links, which means that we could earn a small commission that helps fund our blog (at no extra cost to you!). All opinions are our own and we only recommend products we love. Thank you for your support and happy shopping!
Our pasta took about three hours to dry. Once it was completely dry, I dumped it all into a small plastic bin tucked into a larger underbed storage bin.
Next, I added containers and tools for the girls to use to play with the colored pasta:
- silicone muffin cups
- scissor scoops (from this set)
- tweezers (also from the set linked above)
- pipe cleaners
HOw We Played With Our Pasta Sensory Bin
Sensory bins are the epitome of open-ended play. I have never had to explain what to do with a sensory bin.
I just plop it on the floor on top of a blanket, and the girls take over immediately.
Elena (3 years old) made pasta muffins.
Lia (15 months old) tried to climb into the sensory bin.
And both girls spent at least 10 minutes putting the big rigatoni pasta on their fingers.
The tweezers and scissor scoops got some action as well.
Your Turn to Dye Pasta and Make a Sensory Bin
We used tubular pasta shapes so we could make bracelets with the pasta. But any pasta shape will be fun to play with in a sensory bin.
Wagon wheels, orzo, macaroni, stars, and alphabet pasta are all fun shapes to color and play with!
What pasta shape will you use? Comment below and share your pasta sensory bin creations with us!
Looking for an organized guide of fun, easy activities to do with your toddler that also encourages their growth and development?
I’ve created a 3-month activity planner just for busy parents like you! The plan includes 65 detailed, simple, and stress-free activities including: arts and crafts, sensory play, motor skills, and STEM–all using easy-to-find supplies.
Let me help make planning activities for your toddler easy, so you can skip the stress and get straight to the fun!