Fun Littles

Fun and easy kids activities

Rainbow Snow Sensory Play

Apr 2, 202022,220 views
Sensory bins
Ages3–6 yrs
Prep10 min
Activity30 min
Leveleasy
MessMedium
Works for1:1 · Small group · Class

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.

⚠️ Safety first

  • 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.from the author
  • The snow is soft and powdery. It doesn't really behave like a dough, so don't expect it to hold a snowman shape.from the author
  • If you add excess water (more than the recommended amount), it becomes gooey and icky, which is extra fun for the kids.from the author
  • We did not quite get a true orange, and the children wanted pink. Let kids pick the colors!from the author
  • Fun for kids who don't get to experience real snow outside their doors all winter.from the author

Make it your own

  • Add extra water to make gooey snow and build a dinosaur small world.
  • Turn the tub into a tea party with a toy tea set.

Questions readers asked

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 story behind it

By TurkeyMom · April 2020
Sensory Activities for Kids : rainbow sensory with 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.
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Rainbow Snow Sensory Play: the original post

Sensory activities for kids 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

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For this winter sensory activity we used our trusted “Insta Snow” again. Take a look at our first post- fake snow painting for 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” small world and are hoping to explore this product even more this season. Insta-snow was great for our winter sensory bin. Don’t forget to check out other “pretend snow” posts where we used a simple ingredient to create a “sparkly winter sensory bin” and the same bin was used to practice writing letters. Don’t forget the I-Spy 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. sensory activities with snow The colored snow looked so beautiful and was wonderful to touch.

winter snow activities with homemade rainbow snow (2)

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

homemade rainbow snow

I set out tea cups and scoops and they had a great time pouring and scooping. {I have seen that sensory activities for kids are great for developing hand-eye co-ordination. Our corn meal sensory bin is a great example.}

playign pretend with rainbow snow (2)

Pretty soon the colors mixed and the children started making “snow cakes”

sensory activities with colored snow (2)

playign pretend with rainbow snow

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

tea party with winter rainbow snow

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 here.

Rainbow Snow Sensory Play

Rainbow-Snow-Sensory-Play

What readers say

💬 3 comments ✍️ 1 answered by the author

Answered by the author

“Does this fake snow hold its shape, like for a little snowman?” · Emma @ P is for Preschooler

Author Not really. It's soft and powdery and doesn't behave like a dough. With extra water beyond the recommended amount it turns gooey and icky, which is extra fun.

✨ Readers' twist

Add extra water for gooey play

TurkeyMom explains that adding more than the recommended water turns the snow gooey and icky, which is extra fun; her kids used it for a dinosaur world.

“if you add excess water ( more than the recommended amount) then it does become gooey and icky which is again extra fun for the kids.”
TurkeyMom, Jan 2014

🛠️ Troubleshooting

Won't hold a snowman shape

A reader wanted fake snow that holds its shape for a little snowman. This snow is soft and powdery and doesn't behave like a dough.

“Does this fake snow hold it's shape - like for a little snowman or something?”
Emma @ P is for Preschooler, Jan 2014

🎉 Worked for us

Coloring fake snow is a new twist

A reader who already loved fake snow had never thought of coloring it, and couldn't wait to try the rainbow version.

“I love the fake snow, but I have never even thought about coloring it!!”
Mary Catherine, Jan 2014

Tried it?

Reviewed before it appears. No links, and please no children's names.

Read all 3 comments
  1. Mary Catherine · Jan 2014

    Oh, I cannot wait to try this out! I love the fake snow, but I have never even thought about coloring it!! :) I'm featuring this at this week's Share It Saturday.

  2. TurkeyMomAuthor · Jan 2014 · replying to Emma @ P is for Preschooler

    The snow is soft and powdery. It doesn't really behave like a dough. However if you add excess water ( more than the recommended amount) then it does become gooey and icky which is again extra fun for the kids. Here is a post where we explored adding too much water and the children made a dinosaur world.

  3. Emma @ P is for Preschooler · Jan 2014

    This is so beautiful! No wonder the kids had such a great time! Does this fake snow hold it's shape - like for a little snowman or something? I've been looking for one that does. But either way, I love the colored version!

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🛒 Materials