Learn how to make colored salt for a fun sensory play material! Simply dye table salt with liquid watercolors and let dry for a tactile play experience for kids.
If you’ve spent any time on the blog, you’ll know we love sensory play. And we have a long list of favorite sensory bin materials. But until recently, we’d never tried using salt, colored or plain, in our sensory play.
When we spotted colored salt making the rounds on Instagram and knew we had to try it out. One batch in, and we’re converted! Colored salt is a fantastic sensory play material.
It’s super easy to make and store, and uses just 2 household materials. Plus, kids love the feeling of it sliding through their fingertips when doing sensory play!
How to Make Colored Salt for Sensory Play
MATERIALS
- Table salt
- Liquid watercolors
- Gallon baggies
- Cookie sheet or tray
- Glitter (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Add salt to baggie
Pour a desired amount of table salt into a gallon baggie. We didn’t measure but eyeballed about a cup of salt.
- Add paint
Next, drop a few drops of liquid watercolors into the bag and seal the bag tightly.
Start with a small amount and add more if you want a deeper color.
- Mix
Shake the bag until the color is evenly distributed and the salt is the color you like.
- Let dry
Pour the salt onto a cookie sheet or tray to dry in a thin layer. Allow the salt to air dry for about 1-2 hours.
If you’d like, you can add glitter to your colored salt for some extra sparkle!
We made purple, blue, pink, and teal, let them dry fully and then mixed them together for a mermaid or unicorn mix! - Play!
Once your salt is fully dry, transfer it to your sensory table or bin, add a few toys, or scoops and funnels, and play!
When you’re finished playing, store the salt in airtight container until next time.
We hope you give colored salt a try! It’s definitely made it into our rotation of sensory bin materials!
More Sensory Play for Kids
- The Ultimate Guide to Sensory Bin Materials
- The Artful Parent’s Guide to Sensory Play
- How to Make Rainbow Rice
- 12 Winter Sensory Bins for Kids
- How to Make Cloud Dough for Kids
- How to Make Fizzy Potions for Fun Sensory Play
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