Pasta of any shape or size can be a great enhancement to your child’s play. Here are some ideas for every age.
- Infants: Just a handful of pasta on their highchair tray is a simple sensory experience. For older infants, add pasta to watercolor paintings for an upgraded art experience.
- Toddlers: Make colorful spaghetti. Add cooked pasta, some oil (olive or vegetable), and a few drops of food coloring to a ziplock bag. Squish the bag around to disperse the color. After you are finished, place the pasta in bowls and set out a tongs. Children can transfer the pasta from one bowl to another. If they are old enough to use a child-safe scissors, children can cut the pasta and practice their fine motor skills.
- Preschoolers: Uncooked pasta is a great art enhancement for older children. They can thread yarn through bigger pasta noodles to make necklaces. Or they can add uncooked pasta to their playdough play.
