Last month I started teaching the children in my care about shapes by making Shape Finders. This week I continued teaching about shapes with this sensory rice shape finder activity. It’s more than just scooping and swirling — it’s a hands-on adventure in early learning!

As little fingers dive into the colorful rice to search for shapes, they’re not just making a mess they are building fine motor skills, sharpening shape recognition, and boosting language through playful discovery.

For nannies, this shape discovery sensory bin is a screen-free, low-prep win that keeps curious minds engaged and tiny hands busy.

Don’t forget to read children’s books about shapes when doing this activity with the children in your care including, “Mouse Shapes” by Ellen Stoll Walsh, “My Very First Book of Shapes” by Eric Carle, “Round is a Tortilla: A Book of Shapes” by Roseanne Greenfield, “All Shapes Matter” by Sreekanth Kumar and Chakra Sreekanth.

You Will Need:

Sensory Tray or Bin
Colored Sensory Rice or Make Your Own (see below)
Sensory Bin Tools
Shapes (use wooden blocks, make laminated paper shapes, plastic shape toys).

What to Do:

1. Pour colored rice in a sensory tray or bin. (See how to make colored rice below).

2. Hide wooden block shapes, laminated paper shapes, and/or plastic shaped toys in the sensory bin.

3. Ask children to find specific shapes. Or allow them to just find any shape and ask them to identify the shape they found.

Make Colored Rice:

1 Gallon Plastic Ziploc Bag (per color)
2 Cups of Uncooked Rice
2 Tablespoons of Rubbing Alcohol
Food Coloring (15-20 drops)
Waxed Paper

What to Do:

1. Allow the little ones to pour rubbing alcohol and food coloring into the plastic ziploc bag.

2. Have the kids dump rice into the bag. Then zip the bag closed, double checking to make sure it’s fully closed.

3. Turn on the child’s favorite dancing music and let them shake the bag as they dance! You can let the dancing go on for as long as the little feet want to groove.

4. Empty out the well mixed rice onto some wax paper and let it dry (this shouldn’t take very long).

5. Once it is dry, put the dried rice into a sensory tray or sensory bin. Then hide the shapes in the rice.

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