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craft Hands-On Learning Play Preschool Sensory Toddlers Toys

Tapioca Pearl Sensory Play

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I am sure you have probably heard of water beads. They are a really fun sensory play product for kids.  Have you ever tried tapioca pearl sensory play?

Rainbow Sensory Play with Tapioca Pearls for Toddlers and Preschoolers

Tapioca is the starch from the Cassava root. It comes in hard white balls and is used in puddings and other dishes. A benefit of using tapioca pearls is that they are safe to eat in case your little people decide they look yummy.  I always worried about my kids trying to eat the water beads when we played with them.

Sensory Play with Tapioca Pearls

To do this activity you need some tapioca pearls. You can use small or large, but you do not want the kinds that is ground up.  You’ll also need some food coloring.

Tapioca sensory play

I placed a tablespoon or two of the tapioca into each bowl and then covered them with water. Then I mixed a little food coloring into each of the bowls to make them different colors.

They only need to soak for about half an hour to be saturated and ready to play with. The pearls soak of the different colors of water they are in making them bright and vibrant colors of the rainbow! They are definitely not as big as the water beads, but just as fun.

Tapioca Pearl Sensory bin for toddlers

I just poured them all into a plastic bin to use for playing after they were soaked. WE wanted to make it look like a rainbow!

Toddler Sensory Play with Tapioca Pearls

That first touch is always so exciting and scary! 😉

sensory bin for toddlers and preschoolers- tapioca pearls

But then they never seem to have trouble digging in later!

rainbow tapioca pearl sensory play

This is how they look after being mixed and played with for a while. Still pretty cool!

My little ones LOVED this Tapioca Pearl sensory play. The kids are already asking to do it again.

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5 Comments

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Comments

  1. H says

    February 7, 2019 at 11:20 am

    They look pretty sticky. I’m going to try adding oil after soaking to see if they are more slippery like waterbeads.

    Reply
  2. L Cain says

    September 13, 2019 at 8:29 pm

    How long do they last?

    Reply
  3. Jen says

    November 26, 2021 at 8:53 pm

    Hi! Can you store and reuse these after play? If so, how? Thank you!

    Reply
    • Karyn Tripp says

      December 1, 2021 at 2:56 pm

      No, this is a one-time thing.

      Reply
  4. catherine says

    October 18, 2022 at 11:55 pm

    how did they work after adding the oil

    Reply

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Hi! I'm Karyn.
I am a former teacher turned homeschool mom of four kids. I LOVE teaching! I believe learning should be enjoyable and engaging. My goal is to ease the burdens of educators by offering memorable learning activities.
Questions? Contact me here: karyn@teachbesideme.com
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