The three rules
Most bins are taste-safe. When a bin is hands-only (soap foam, dry rice, beans), the card says so, in a chip on the Sensory Lab. Nothing in a taste-safe bin is smaller than a toilet-paper tube unless it is food. An adult is within arm's length of any water deeper than a puddle. Ride-along babies get a water bowl instead of a hands-only filler.
Taste-safe fillers that work
Cooked pasta, dry oats, cooked rice dyed with food coloring, water with a drop of dish soap (hands-only once the soap is in), heavy cream whipped with nothing added, yogurt paint, oats blitzed into sand, chia seeds soaked into goo, cloud dough made from baked flour and olive oil. Skip dry rice and beans for kids who still mouth things; they are choke risks, they end up everywhere, and the card will say hands-only.
Tools
Measuring cups, ladles, a turkey baster, a small colander, ice-cube trays, and a low bin on a towel. A washable tablecloth under the bin turns cleanup into a five-second bundle.
When to stop
When they throw it. Throwing is the end of the activity, not a discipline moment; say 'all done' and move to the next block.
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