Sensory Beads (pin fail?)

We were in charge of doing a science experiment for Laine's class. While we were searching for something to do, I found this link for 12 Sensory Play Recipes. Sommer saw the pictures and begged me to order the "edible water beads" which are actually tapioca pearls, like the kind found in bubble tea or at some frozen yogurt places as a topping. 

Initially the project turned out fine. I used food coloring to make the pearls brighter colors. I let them sit for about an hour to soak up  the color. The original site mentioned that the beads get sticky and they did. So we put them in a shallow tub of water. It also said that some of the food runs off while playing. Actually, a lot of it runs off making the water very muddy. So our rainbow beads went from brightly colored to muted. Also, it turned the girls hands very purple. They had fun with it though for one afternoon. Massimo didn't want to touch them. The boys poked at the pearls and thought they were weird and that was it for them. 

Sommer is my sensory child so this was fun for her, just a lot messier than we expected. Ours didn't turn out as pretty as the pictures, at all, we saw but she had fun. And now we have half a bag of tapioca pearls in the kitchen so we can try it again someday. Maybe then we'll have prettier results. 

Or maybe we'll just try to make our own bubble tea.