Candy Cane Sensory Rice

We've done many sensory rice jars, as they are great for impromptu play and keep a long time.
You can also whip up a batch overnight with little prep and money.
I used basmati rice and dyed it with a few drops of food colouring, stirring well and adding the peppermint essential oils. Spreading it on the baking sheet allows it to dry and prevents a lot of the colour from coming off onto your hands. Though hand heat does result in a little colour transfer, even when dry.

We added some Christmas tree ornaments; a few Nutcrackers, some figurines from Rudolph and a clear snowflake. Baby C liked to bury them all and hide them in the corner of the baking sheet!

She had an entire session where she played the two parts of the Nutcracker "Sisters".
Very sweet to listen in on her role playing game!

This is easily stored in a mason jar for future play.

EXPAND ON CANDY CANE PLAY
Candy Cane Science. We attemtped this last year, in hopes to do less candy eating!http://babbledabbledo.com/easy-science-for-kids-winter-scent-lab/

Scent Lab. I love this idea to collect seasonal objects to create a Scent Lab http://babbledabbledo.com/easy-science-for-kids-winter-scent-lab/