Colored Chickpeas Recipe For sensory play

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Chickpeas are a great sensory material to use on sensory bins for sensory play. Just a few materials and 30 minutes you can go from preparing to playing!

Playing with chickpeas feel very different than playing with colored rice or even beans yet they absorb and reflect the same vibe and color you get with colored rice.

Chickpeas are also very affordable and once they are colored they last a long time. They are great for sensory play even when they are not colored like this set up below.

You can mix them and save them in ziplock bags or plastic bins and reuse them and take them out at every season!

Are chickpeas a choking hazard for babies?

Yes. chickpeas are a choking hazard for babies and toddlers that still mouth things. Whole cooked or uncoocked chickpeas are a choking hazard because they are round and firm. To reduce the choking risk with chickpeas, flatten cooked chickpeas between your fingers and discard any skins that slip off.

This recipe should only be played with by babies and toddlers that no longer put things in their mouth and under adult supervision.

As an alternative to this recipe if your baby still put things in his mouth, you can do our edible waterbeads that are taste-safe and a lot of fun!

How To make Colored chickpeas Recipe

The recipe below has a fall feeling because of the colors I used. I did a combination of colors usually found in fall decorations. I chose yellow, orange, red and brown.

Want Rainbow happy colors? Repeat the coloring process for each of the 6 colors of the rainbow like this.

How to Dye Colorful Chickpeas Quickly

There are different techniques to dye chickpeas. I have seen tutorials with watercolor paint, acrylic paint and other toxic less safe to the mouth technique.

I always opt in for safer ingredients because I know our little ones are explorers and like to put things in their mouth just for good measure!

I like to dye my sensory bin fillers with a really good brand of food coloring. Also, food coloring dried faster than if you use watercolor or other paint.

So let’s get started! Grab tour supplies and let’s go!

What You Need:

  • dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans that come in a bag not a candy)
  • liquid food coloring (These are a little pricey compare to there but you only need one drop at a time to get vibrant colors)
  • white vinegar
  • zip-lock bags
  • Aluminum paper

*dried garbanzos can be a choking hazard for kids under age 4 – please supervise play at all times *

Play ideas To use colored Chickpeas

Here are some sensory bins and activity you can browse to get inspired!

https://pin.it/29mrVtX

Dinosaur sensory bin

Space themed sensoRy bin

Vía Pinterest: https://rainydaymum.co.uk/space-themed-sensory-bin/

Valentine’s day chickpea sensory bin

easter sensoRy bin

Sky theme chickpea sensoey bin

https://montessorifromtheheart.com/