Dyed Chick Peas for Sensory Play – Apple Theme 

Dried Chickpeas are such a fun sensory base for 3-4 and up! 

Some of the questions I hear all of the time are, “Can you dye chickpeas?” and “How to dye chickpeas for sensory play?” 

I’m here to tell you that it’s easy peasy! 

There may be a couple of different methods out there, but this one is the easiest, quickest and best way to dye any dry material such as (pasta, rice and beans.)

I’ll share below exactly how I made this simple sensory bin and how you can too! 

Let’s get to it! 

Related: Looking for another fun apple themed activity? Go here. 

Supplies: 

This post contains affiliate links. 

• Acrylic Paint 

• Hand Sanitizer

• Dried chickpeas

• Ziploc bag or container

Voila! 

You are set to color your dried chickpeas! 

How to dye chickpeas for sensory play video below:

How to make colorful chickpeas? 

Easy peasy. 

Here are the steps I took to create our chickpea sensory bin: 

• Insert your chickpeas into containers that have a lid and in equal parts.

• Then, add a bit of paint and a squirt of hand sanitizer. 

• Close the lid, and shake, shake, shake. 

• Open the lid and lay your chickpeas out to dry on a paper towel in a container. 

• Once they are dry (literally in minutes) remove them and add them into a sensory tray or sensory bin. 

Easy peasy, eh? 

That is really all there is to it to create this epic preschool apple theme activity and the best way on how to paint chickpeas for sensory play! 

Related: If you are looking for how to dye pasta for sensory play? Check it out here! 

What can be used for sensory play? 

The sensory play bases we like to use are: 

• Dried beans

• Dried rice

• Dried pasta

• Your littles squishy toys

• Shaving cream

• Cooked spaghetti

• Foam soap

• Moon sand

• Natures treasures (leaves, twigs and outdoor fallen flowers)

• Just plain old water in a bin 

• Themed colored water in a bin (ex: blue for a pretend ocean play.)

• Pom poms

• Ice cubes

• Sand

• Water beads

• Corn starch 

• Corn meal 

These are just some of the fun sensory bases that can work for a sensory bin. 

How do you make a sensory box? 

Sensory boxes can be easy peasy to make. 

Just take your sensory base and add your littles toys to it. 

For example: If you use the sensory base – shaving cream – then make sure to use a fun toy such as foam letters or foam shapes to add to as these will be easy to clean when there is shaving cream added to them. 

If you are using water as a sensory base, make sure to include plastic toys and not wooden ones as the wood and water probably aren’t a great idea to mix together. 

Combining a sensory base + your childrens toys is a great and basic method on how you can create a simple sensory box! 

Related: Looking for more sensory ideas? Here are over 100 sensory play ideas! 

Happy learning and enjoy!