Rainbow chickpeas are an excellent filler for your next sensory bin. They’re so easy to make, and best of all, your kids can help too.
I got my toddler to do all the shaking and pouring. He was very excited that he got to help.
In the end, I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly they dried. Five minutes later, they were ready to be played with, which was fantastic for my little boy, who has no patience at all (especially when he helps me to make them in the first place).
The only downside to this recipe is that it’s not taste-safe. If you still have kids who love to put everything in their mouths, then I would recommend using my Rainbow Rice Recipe instead. You can easily substitute the rice for chickpeas, and you know that it’s 100% taste-safe.
If you want more sensory play ideas, then be sure to check out my 10+ Sensory Tubs for Toddlers or my 10+ Sensory activities for babies.
You can also go the no-prep route and try this Frozen Pea sensory bin. As the peas defrost, they can be used for three different toddler activities. These frozen peas activities have saved my sanity on more than a few rainy days because one of them is a fantastic energy burner.
Materials you’ll need
1. Ziplock bag – one for each color
2. 1 cup of dried chickpeas
3. Liquid watercolor paint
4. A child who’ll love to do all the shaking for you
Video tutorial
You can watch the video tutorial here, or read the step by step instructions below.
How to make Rainbow Chickpeas
1: Add a few squirts of liquid watercolor paint into a ziplock bag
2: Add the dried chickpeas into the bag with the paint.
3: Close the bag and shake it until all of the chickpeas are covered. You can always add more paint if you need to.
4: Pour the chickpeas onto a plate or bowl and let them dry (This is very quick)
Ideas for Extended play.
Rainbow chickpeas are fantastic for sensory bins and small world play. We had a lot of fun pouring them and feeding them to our farm animals.
I think having a chickpea construction site would be fun too, but I’m sure that we could use them in any one of our 10+ Mini World Play Ideas.
What I want to try next is using them to make some art. I believe that the red and green ones would be perfect for this cute Apple Tree Art from Rhythms of Play.
They’ve used their free printable to make an apple tree out of buttons. But I think that rainbow chickpeas would make a beautiful apple tree. Visit Rhythms of play to get your copy of their free printable tree today.
You could also use them as an all alternative in this DIY fridge door marble run in my 5 Fridge door activities post. This marble run is a fun STEM challenge for older kids who need a quick distraction while you cook dinner.
As it turns out, Rainbow Chickpeas are quite versatile. No doubt your little ones will find a whole lot more ways to play with them too. That’s a whole lot of fun in one small tub.
Are you going to make Rainbow Chickpeas with your kids? Don’t forget to pin the idea for later.
