Rainbow Pasta Cutting

Children are often taught not to play with their food. However, children actually learn best when they explore the many sensations around eating. Joy used to put yogurt in her hair and mix it in like it was conditioner. She would rub sauce on her arm as if it was lotion. She still does what some would think are “odd” table/eating habits, like dipping her carrot stick in water. I encourage that sort of exploration in eating because it is the very thing that helps Joy better understand her own body and what feels, tastes, and smells good!

At first Joy explored the sensory bin with her hands, and then dove her arms in as if swimming. She made remarks about the temperature being chilly and the feeling “gooey.” She chose to work with the spring-back scissors at first and very quickly snipped several strands in the pile. She then moved to the safety scissors and settled on them for the rest of her play. Her imagination took off as she brought her plastic horses into the bin and proceeded to give them all haircuts. We then gave the horses a bath to wash the oil off of them. Follow your child and let some magical, fun, and sometimes messy play evolve!

Materials

  • Spaghetti
  • Color dye
  • Canola oil
  • Tupperware or Ziploc bag

How To

  • Divide your pasta into 6 equal sections—you might want to use two boxes.
  • In a large pot, boil some water.
  • When the water is bubbling, add a few drops of color dye and mix around with a metal spoon (Not wooden!) Then add the pasta.
  • After three minutes check the color of the pasta. If you want a richer color, add a few more drops of color dye.
  • When the pasta is cooked (8-10 minutes) drain it and rinse with cold water. This will keep your colors vibrant. Don’t worry if some dye runs off when rinsing it—that’s perfectly fine, it’s just extra.
  • Place in a Tupperware or Ziploc bag and add ½ teaspoon of canola oil and mix—this will help the pasta not to stick.
Rainbow Pasta Cutting - DIY - Playgarden Online
Rainbow Pasta Cutting - DIY - Playgarden Online
Rainbow Pasta Cutting - DIY - Playgarden Online
Rainbow Pasta Cutting - DIY - Playgarden Online
Rainbow Pasta Cutting - DIY - Playgarden Online
Rainbow Pasta Cutting - DIY - Playgarden Online
Rainbow Pasta Cutting - DIY - Playgarden Online
Rainbow Pasta Cutting - DIY - Playgarden Online
Rainbow Pasta Cutting - DIY - Playgarden Online
Rainbow Pasta Cutting - DIY - Playgarden Online
Rainbow Pasta Cutting - DIY - Playgarden Online
Rainbow Pasta Cutting - DIY - Playgarden Online
Rainbow Pasta Cutting - DIY - Playgarden Online
Rainbow Pasta Cutting - DIY - Playgarden Online
Rainbow Pasta Cutting - DIY - Playgarden Online
Rainbow Pasta Cutting - DIY - Playgarden Online
Rainbow Pasta Cutting - DIY - Playgarden Online
Rainbow Pasta Cutting - DIY - Playgarden Online
Rainbow Pasta Cutting - DIY - Playgarden Online
Rainbow Pasta Cutting - DIY - Playgarden Online
Rainbow Pasta Cutting - DIY - Playgarden Online
Rainbow Pasta Cutting - DIY - Playgarden Online
Rainbow Pasta Cutting - DIY - Playgarden Online
Rainbow Pasta Cutting - DIY - Playgarden Online
Rainbow Pasta Cutting - DIY - Playgarden Online

Skills

Hand-eye Coordination Hand-eye Coordination
Sensory exploration Sensory exploration

Tips with Miss Charlotte

Miss Charlotte - Teacher Playgarden

Arrange the pasta in the color scheme of the rainbow. You don’t need a lot of spaghetti; just a little will do to cover the sensory bin. I offered Joy three kinds of scissors: child safety scissors, Loop scissors—which can be used with the right or left hand—and Spring-back scissors with two stages that provide both support releasing the grip and the ability to manually release the grip.

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