I know tomorrow is Valentine’s Day but my mind is already planning St.Patrick’s Day. If you need a Valentine’s Day craft idea we have those, too, but I had to share this because it was too much fun to keep to ourselves any longer. The major bonus of this rainbow gelatin sensory tub project was that for toddlers who are putting everything in their mouths it’s no biggie if they take a bite. I added kool-aid to make it smell great and sour to discourage eating it. Note: Refrigeration is necessary.
- Gather your materials. I used 6 foil pans I had on hand but any container will work to set the gelatin, you will need plain gelatin packets 4 per color, food color, spoons, a pot, measuring cups and kool-aid for scent/added color. Also a big tub and some bath toys for playing. I have been asked why not just use jello. I didn’t want my kids to eat this – I wanted it to smell great but taste yucky.
- Start by mixing your colors. I used koolaid mostly for scent but also for color.
- Make the gelatin. I used the recipe on the back of the knox gelatin box adjusting it to 1/2 as much liquid ( 1/2 cup of cool and 1 cup hot and 4 envelopes of gelatin) as the recipe called for to make it thicker for play using plain water with color/ koolaid in it. I made all 6 colors.
- Let cool – I had to stack them in my fridge so I popped a few in the freezer for a minute to stiffen. I totally forgot about this purple one. It froze, which made it unusable. The kids didn’t miss it at all.
- When set slice into pieces. I used a knife then scraped it into the tub using a spatula.
- Add kids and toys.
He was so excited he was bouncing, this is the best picture of many very blurry bouncy pictures I took.
- You can probably tell we used our gelatin sensory tub in our bathroom. Please find a place where tiny bits of color won’t ruin anything. The gelatin won’t stain hands but absorbs into clothes and other fabrics. Please go somewhere where kids can have fun without you hovering. Also, so you won’t have to search for stain removers on Pinterest after this project. Our bathroom was perfect. I had a damp cloth handy for little bits that got shaken off hands or toys and flung all over. It also had a door to stop kids from running into the rest of the house before hands were washed after playing with the gelatin sensory tub. All this said, it was still completely worth it.
- They stuck them on the side of the tub.
- Smelled it.
- Tasted it (love my son’s face, he’s telling her not to eat it).
- Mixed them all up and had a blast.
Want more great ideas for preschool activities? Check out our Build Preschool Thematic Curriculum Units!
Elissa says
Oh wow! This looks like so much fun! Our bathrooms are not really big enough for playtime though, so I think I’ll hold off on this until it’s warm enough to play outside!
Deanna says
Great activity!!!! I actually put my toddler IN the bathtub for this one! He is 16mo and was nuts about this one!!!
Deanna says
Great activity!!!! I actually put my toddler IN the bathtub for this one! He is 16mo and was nuts about this one!!!
Deborah says
I love Rainbows!! I have been working on a different kind of Jello idea – but haven’t finished it yet!
Kristina says
This looks like SO MUCH FUN! I love rainbow activities. My kiddos would love this!! Great idea and such cute pictures too!
Kim @ The Educators Spin On It says
This looks like such a fun experience for the senses! We are working on color words right now using a Paper Bag Book and this will be a perfect addition, especially since it’s in another language. I linked it up to my post for others too! http://theeducatorsspinonit.blogspot.com/2012/02/afterschool-express-colorful-heart-fun.html
Crystal @ Growing A Jeweled Rose says
Great idea! We wil have to plan to do this soon after Valentine’s Day 🙂
Kristina says
Great idea! I just pinned it!
Dental Lab Pro says
This looks like gooey fun!
Jamie says
Just wanted to say that I’ve done play with regular sugared jello and I don’t think that it was that much of a mess. We made shapes, stacked, stuck and everything else that you did and the clean up was fine. Can’t wait to do it again! 🙂
Angela says
This is sooo amazing! I love it! Can’t wait to do this with our triplets!
Leslie says
Super fun!
Andrea says
I think my kids would thoroughly enjoy this. How many boxes of gelatin did you use for all six colors–one or one per color or somewhere in between?
admin says
I used 2 packets per color ( with 1 1/2 cups of liquid in each).
Catherine says
I have several boxes of sugar free jello I’m going to try this with today. I also have a box of knox gelatin packs. Maybe I could do red, blue and clear (or white) for the 4th of July.
miranda says
Hi! I think my son will love this! We love all things rainbow! I was just wondering, how do you store this or is it a one time use only? Love it and looking forward to making this!
admin says
We stored it in the fridge for almost a week but it got a little gross after that.
Bethany Rinn says
Thanks for sharing your fun idea! We did this on Valentine’s Day and have a few pictures here…
http://teamrinntx.blogspot.com/2013/02/fun-in-tub-with-colored-gelatin.html
Love your blog! 🙂
Brandi says
Hi! Please forgive this question if I missed it somewhere in the post…but I am unfamiliar with the gelatin packs…so it sounds like they come in a box just like the jello, but how many boxes/packets do I need? Thank you! So excited to have found this AMAZING site.
admin says
I can’t believe I never had the full recipe – I used 4 envelopes of plain knox gelatin per color with 1/2 cool liquid and 1 cup of hot. I used koolaid to scent and color it.
Ashley says
Do you mix the Kool-Aid with water and if so how much?
Allison McDonald says
I mixed in the water that I heated up so according to the recipe that’s 1 cup .
Deb @ Living Montessori Now says
What an awesome idea for St. Patrick’s Day! I featured your post and photo in my 40+ St. Patrick’s Day Sensory Tubs at http://livingmontessorinow.com/2013/03/11/montessori-monday-40-plus-st-patricks-day-sensory-tubs/