# Make Your Own Colored Sand
> Color clean sand three ways: with Kool-Aid for color plus scent, with powdered tempera for rich, vibrant color, or with food coloring. Then dry it and lay it out in a flat sensory bin for play.
- URL: https://www.funlittles.com/sensory-activities-make-your-own-colored-sand/
- Ages: 3–8 yrs · Difficulty: easy · Mess: high
- Time: prep 10 min, activity 30 min
- Works for: one-on-one, small group, whole class
- Skills: sensory-exploration, colors, fine-motor
- Cautions: food-dye, ingestion-risk

## Materials (one batch)
- 0.5 cup Clean sand
- 1 piece Kool-Aid drink mix packets
- Powdered tempera paint (optional)
- Food coloring (liquid or gel) (optional)
- 0.5 tbsp Water (household)
- 1 piece Empty yogurt containers (household)
- 1 piece Spoon or craft stick for mixing (household)
- 1 piece Flat tray or sheet (household)
- 1 piece Flat (shallow) sensory box

## Substitutions
- Instead of kool aid: Powdered tempera paint (The author found it worked just as great, with rich, vibrant color but no scent. Mix it into the sand dry. Not taste-safe.)
- Instead of kool aid: Food coloring (a few drops, or a small squirt of gel) plus 1 tbsp water (Mix vigorously, then drain the excess water and dry. No scent.)

## Safety
- Kool-Aid stains hands. The author says the stain is gone after a few hand washes.
- Kool-Aid sand smells like a drink, but it is not food. Watch that kids don't taste it or put sand in their mouths.
- Adult pours the powdered tempera. Avoid breathing in the dust, and keep the powder and the colored sand away from eyes and mouths.
- Supervise sensory play at all times and wash hands after playing.

## Before you start
- Save empty yogurt containers, one per color.
- Make sure the sand is clean.
- If kids won't help with the coloring, color the sand ahead so it has time to dry.

## Steps
1. Put 1/2 cup of clean sand into an empty yogurt container.
2. Kool-Aid way: add 1 packet of Kool-Aid and mix the sand and drink mix well together.
3. Add about 1/2 tbsp of water and keep mixing until the color is nice and even.
4. Tempera way: add powdered tempera to dry sand and mix thoroughly until it's evenly colored.
5. Food color way: add a few drops of food color (or a small squirt of gel) and 1 tbsp of water, then mix vigorously until the color is bright.
6. Drain out any extra water.
7. Make a new color in each container.
8. Lay the sand out on a flat tray or sheet to dry.
9. Spread all the colors in a flat sensory box and explore.

## Tips
- Tropical punch and ice blue raspberry Kool-Aid give the best colors. Lemonade doesn't give you a true yellow, but the scent is amazing.
- Powdered tempera worked just as great as the drink mix. You won't have the scent, but the color is so rich and vibrant.
- Mix the colors in empty yogurt containers. They looked great and smelled even more amazing.
- You don't have to wait for it to dry completely. We laid the sand out while it was a wee bit wet in our flat sensory box.
- Kool-Aid stains if you use your hands, but the stain is gone after a few hand washes. The best part: use your stained hands to play 'hand monster' and get the kids giggling and squealing.

## The original post by TurkeyMom (2013)

As though sand needed something extra to be more fun! It's summer time and we have started playing in, on, under and around our [**sandbox**](https://www.funlittles.com/build-an-island-in-a-sandbox/) more now. Sand is such a fun and frugal sensory material for many ***[sensory activit](https://www.funlittles.com/sensory-activities-desert-sensory-bin/)ies*.** To make it even more exciting we made colored sand using 3 different ways.

- Clean sand
- Kool-Aid packets
- Powdered Tempera
- Food Color

Method 1

 For 1/2 cup of clean sand I added 1 packet of Kool-Aid. This proportion gave the resulting sand a nice color and a great smell. After adding the Kool-Aid mix the sand and the drink mix well together. Then add about 1/2 tbsp of water and start mixing to get the color nice and even. Remember that Kool-Aid stains. Although the stain is gone after a few hand washes. Once you have your scented and colored sand, lay it out on a flat tray or sheet to dry. Note: The *tropical punch and ice blue raspberry flavors give the best colors.* I found that lemonade does not give you a true yellow but the scent is amazing. Method 2

 I tried coloring the sand using powdered tempera as well. This worked just as great as the drink mix method. Of course you won't have the scent but the color is so rich and vibrant. I simply added sand and powdered tempera and thoroughly mixed them together to get an evenly colored sand. Method 3

 Add a few drops of food coloring or a small squirt ( if using gel food color) to the sand. Add 1 tbsp of water and start mixing vigorously. With a few rounds you will start getting a bright color. Drain out the excess water and lay the sand on a flat surface to dry.



I mixed all the colors in empty yogurt containers. They looked great and smelled even more amazing..



I laid out the sand (while being a wee bit wet) into our flat sensory box for further sensory exploration and play. More on that in another post.



Remember if you use your hands, kool aid stains. The best part however it you can use your stained hands to play "hand monster with your kids and make them uncontrollably giggling and squealing.



Thanks for reading. Have fun playing with sand this summer.

Check out our other sensory activities using [**sensory bins**](https://www.funlittles.com/category/sensory-bins/)