For starters, this is something I would not introduce any earlier than 2 years of age. Otherwise the pasta will not remain in the bucket, and it will become an uphill battle between you, your strained back, and your wild, chortling offspring.
Sensory development is crucial in a toddler's development. It helps develop gross and fine motor skills as well as spatial awareness. When you see a child filling a cup to its brink, they are answering their own question as to how much it can hold before overflowing. As they play, they learn. Touch, sight, smell, and sound are all ways to decompress and can be very soothing to a small child, as well as an adult for that matter. The more variety, the better. Soft, hard, fuzzy, round, square, dry, sticky, slippery, loud, light, heavy, quiet, fluttery, etc. Incorporating lots of tools for the children to use is incredibly important. When they pick up a spoon or small cup and transfer the materials from one point to another, it is developing hand-eye coordination that will later become useful when learning to write or tie their shoes!
Today I chose to stain some various types of pasta to keep in a plastic sensory tub for my daughter, and here was my process:
~Ingredients~
1 cup of pasta per color - I used Orzo, Tubetti, Gemelli, and Rings
2 Tbsp. of rubbing alcohol for each cup
3-4 drops of food coloring for each cup
Ziploc sandwich baggies
Aluminum foil
Cookie sheet
~Directions~
1. Pour 2 Tbsp. of rubbing alcohol in a sandwich baggie.
2. Add the 3-4 drops of desired food coloring.
4. Mix well and let the color soak in for 5 minutes, flipping occasionally.
6. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil, spread the pasta on foil, and let dry for an hour.
* I made an extra batch and ran out of aluminum foil, so I used waxed paper instead. It worked even BETTER and the pasta slid right off. I would substitute waxed paper in the future.
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| Oh, joy! |
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| Look at that focus! |
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| Must. Concentrate. Can't. Spill. |
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| Watching it drop into the bucket! |
