# Rainbow Snow Sensory Play
> Kids pour glittery colored water into scoops of Insta-Snow powder and watch it puff up into rainbow "snow." Then they scoop, pour and play pretend in a flat tub. An easy indoor winter activity for kids who don't get real snow.
- URL: https://www.funlittles.com/sensory-activities-for-kids-winter-sensory-with-rainbow-snow/
- Ages: 3–6 yrs · Difficulty: easy · Mess: medium
- Time: prep 10 min, activity 30 min
- Works for: one-on-one, small group, whole class
- Skills: sensory-exploration, hand-eye-coordination, fine-motor, pretend-play, colors, science
- Cautions: food-dye, ingestion-risk

## Materials (one batch)
- 2 scoop Insta-Snow powder
- 0.5 cup Water (household)
- Gel food color
- Glitter (optional)
- 1 piece Bowls or containers for the snow powder (household)
- 1 piece Small disposable cups (household)
- 1 piece Flat tub
- Scoops, cups and toy tea set (household)

## Safety
- Supervise this activity at all times.
- Use only with children who no longer put objects in their mouths. The fake snow is not food and is not taste-safe.
- Keep glitter away from eyes and wash hands after play.
- Gel food color can stain hands, clothes and surfaces.

## Steps
1. Put 2 scoops of Insta-Snow powder into each container, one container per color.
2. Fill a small cup with 1/2 cup of water for each container and color each cup with gel food color, loosely following the rainbow.
3. Add a dash of glitter to each cup of colored water (optional).
4. Let each child pick a favorite colored water and pour it into the snow powder. Watch it soak up the water and grow.
5. Look at and touch the colored snow.
6. Drop each color of snow into a flat tub in rainbow stripes.
7. Set out tea cups and scoops for pouring and scooping.
8. Let the colors mix and make "snow cakes."
9. Set up a tea party in a corner of the tub.

## Tips
- The setup was quick and simple. Follow the package instructions: 1/2 cup of water for 2 scoops of powder.
- The snow is soft and powdery. It doesn't really behave like a dough, so don't expect it to hold a snowman shape.
- If you add excess water (more than the recommended amount), it becomes gooey and icky, which is extra fun for the kids.
- We did not quite get a true orange, and the children wanted pink. Let kids pick the colors!
- Fun for kids who don't get to experience real snow outside their doors all winter.

## FAQ
**Does this fake snow hold its shape, like for a little snowman?** Not really. The author says it is soft and powdery and doesn't behave like a dough. Adding more water than recommended makes it gooey instead, which kids also enjoy.

## The original post by TurkeyMom (2020)

[**Sensory activities for kids**](https://www.funlittles.com/category/sensory-bins/) are truly a great way to learn, play and create. Here we show how our children engaged in a variety of role play, pretend play and sensory play in our homemade rainbow "snow. Fun for kids who don't get to experience real snow outside their doors all winter. The best part- since we are big on color we actually made rainbow snow.

***Materials Used***

- **[Insta-Snow Jar](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FA6APE/?tag=blmemo-20)**
- **[AmeriColor Gel Food Color](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0029YDR82/?tag=blmemo-20)**
- Cups and bowls
- Flat tub
- **[Glitter](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009R5ICMW/?tag=blmemo-20)**(optional)
- Scoops for play

vc_single_image image="11497" img_link_target="_self" img_size="large"

For this winter sensory activity we used our trusted "Insta Snow" again. Take a look at our first post- **[fake snow painting](https://www.funlittles.com/winter-activities-for-kids-fake-snow-painting/) f**or a short introduction and relevant links. This product has been truly fun for our family since we live in a place where it doesn't snow. We have used it in our ["**Dinosaur Goo"**](https://www.funlittles.com/sensory-activities-green-goo-and-dinosaur-world/) small world and are hoping to explore this product even more this season. Insta-snow was great for our [**winter sensory bin.**](https://www.funlittles.com/christmas-tree-craft/) Don't forget to check out other "pretend snow" posts where we used a simple ingredient to create a [**"sparkly winter sensory bin"**](https://www.funlittles.com/sensory-activities-for-kids-winter-sensory-play-with-pretend-snow/) and the same bin was used to practice writing letters. Don't forget the [**I-Spy game**](https://www.funlittles.com/winter-sensory-bin-i-spy-sensory-game/) we created. Note: Please supervise this activity and use this only when the children are no longer putting objects in their mouths.The set up was quick and simple. I gathered 7 containers and added 2 scoops of the fake "snow" powder in each bowl. Then I gathered 7 small disposable cups and made 7 colored water loosely based on the rainbow ( we did not quite get a true orange and the children wanted pink haha) With a dash of glitter in the colored water I invited them to make " rainbow snow" I followed the instructions on the package and measured 1/2 cup of water for 2 scoops of the powder. The kids chose their favorite colored water and started adding them to the "snow powder". The transformation was magnificent. The powder absorbs the water and expands around 100 times its initial volume.  The colored snow looked so beautiful and was wonderful to touch.



We dropped the individual "snow" into a flat tub for some more pretend play.



I set out tea cups and scoops and they had a great time pouring and scooping. {I have seen that [**sensory activities for kids**](https://www.funlittles.com/category/sensory-bins/) are great for developing hand-eye co-ordination. Our [**corn meal sensory bin**](https://www.funlittles.com/sensory-activities-for-kids/) is a great example.}



Pretty soon the colors mixed and the children started making "snow cakes"





The tea party in the corner was a big hit as well.



Do try out this activity for a easy winter fun indoors. Do you like rainbow colors just as we do? Check out all our [**rainbow activities for kids**](https://www.funlittles.com/tag/rainbow/) here.