Hidden Treasure Rice Bin

What you need

• Small waterproof toys (not for under 3s), a handful (large toys only for under 3s)
• Clear cups, 2 to 3
• Rice, 1 bag
• Big tub, 1
• Blanket, 1 blanket, towel or old sheet
• Spoon, 2
• Funnel, 1

How to do it

Grown-up prep: Lay a blanket, towel or old sheet under the play spot to catch spills. Pour the dry rice into the tub and set out cups, spoons and the funnel. For children under 3, use only large toys that can't fit in a mouth, as small toys are a choking hazard. Stay right beside your child the whole time. Dry rice is for playing, not eating, and grains can be a choking risk or end up in ears and noses.

1. Hear Ollie's rice rule: this rice is for hands and cups, not tummies!
2. Help pour the dry rice into the big tub. Ask for help if you need it
3. Close your eyes while the treasures get buried deep in the rice.
   Ask: No peeking! How many treasures do you think Ollie hid?
4. Run your hands through the rice and feel it slide between your fingers.
5. Scoop rice with a spoon and fill up a cup.
6. Hold the funnel over a cup and pour rice through it.
7. Dig and search for the hidden toys until you find every one.
   Ask: Can you find a toy using only your fingers, without looking?
8. Count the treasures, then gather the rice back into the tub.
9. Now hide the treasures for someone else! Who will find them fastest?
   Ask: Where will you hide the treasures so they are super tricky to find?

Play it again

• Feel and guess: pull a toy halfway out by feel and guess what it is before you look.
• Color hunt: ask Ollie to find only one kind of toy first, like all the animals.
• Cup race: fill a cup with rice using a spoon and see how many spoonfuls it takes, then try a bigger cup.