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How to colour pasta for play

May 7, 2014 by Kate 16 Comments

How to colour pasta for play the quick and easy way

 Keeping things simple

You can find just about anything and everything to do with play on the Internet, which is fabulous but can also be quite daunting. For me, I like to keep things as simple as possible. When I’m wanting to set up a fun play idea for Possum (2.5 years), I want to get it started quickly, rather than taking half the day (or make an extra grocery trip) to get it all ready.

So here I have decided to (hopefully) inspire you to introduce pasta into your play sessions with your children and consider this simple approach to colouring it.

Varieties of pasta

There are so many different types of pasta! Whatever you have in the pantry would work just fine. There are a few things that  I really love about using pasta in play. Firstly, it’s something that I can stored for long periods of time and use over and over again for different activities or sensory type play.

Playing with pasta is one activity that we’ve done a few times before, but to be honest, rarely do I colour it. I’ve not often felt the need to, especially if I can provide a few different varieties of pasta from the kitchen pantry. The differing sizes and textures make them interesting and fun to explore.

But of course if you are wanting to colour the pasta pieces then it will add another dimension to your play. It will provide an opportunity to talk about colour names and, if your child is old enough to get involved in the dyeing process, discussing what colours comes from mixing two or three colours together. Patterning and sorting are also great ways to incorporate some teaching using coloured pasta.

Mixing and colouring pasta

How to colour pasta for play

So forget about the vinegar or the alcohol based hand sanitiser you see everyone recommend you add, the truth is I don’t think you actually need it. If you’re able to give the pasta long enough to dry then it will stain without any problems and, in my own experience, the colours will not rub off. So let’s keep it simple and get the play happening!!!

You will need – 

  • Pasta (whatever you have in the pantry)
  • Plastic ziplock lunch bags
  • Food colouring

Add your pasta to a ziplock bag with a few drops of food colouring and SHAKE!!!! Depending on what type of pasta you are colouring will depend on the amount of food colouring you need and the shape of the pasta. The spiral shaped pasta was the most difficult to colour as it took lots of colouring to get inside the spirals.

How to dye pasta in various colours

Once you see the pasta is coated to your liking, simply lay the pasta and allow it to dry. Depending on how many drops of food colouring you added will depend on how long you’ll need to leave it. I waited about half an hour for the above pasta to be coated. If you find your pasta is struggling to become completely coated, add a few drops of water to the bag, but not too much as you don’t want soggy pasta.

Colouring pasta for play with children

So there you have it, a simple way to colour pasta that will get to playing in no time.

Offering your child coloured pasta can open up the doors to many learning opportunities. You could simply ask your child to group/sort the pasta according to colour, shape or size or ask them to create interesting a detailed patterns (red, yellow, blue, red, yellow, blue). The possibilities are quite endless.

What other ways could you engage your child with coloured pasta?

Here are some other ideas that might interest you – 

     How to dye corn kernels for play   SpaghettiPlay.jpg
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Filed Under: 1 - 3 years, 3 - 5 years, 5 - 10 years Tagged With: DIY, fine motor, sensory play

Comments

  1. Andy says

    May 12, 2014 at 12:01 am

    Use rubbing alcohol instead of water— it dries quicker!

    Reply
    • Kate says

      May 12, 2014 at 3:39 pm

      Thanks so much for the tip Andy! I appreciate that. I think a lot of people get a little turned off using rubbing alcohol, however, I’ve added your comments to the end of this post so others might read your advice. Thanks again.

      Reply
      • Jessica says

        April 19, 2017 at 12:48 am

        I use white vinegar. It’s not toxic (although, not tasty), so that might alleviate fears with alcohol. Dry time is about an hour for pasta and about an hour and a half with rice (I always have to stir the rice half way through the drying process to make sure the rice at the bottom gets dry).

        Reply
        • Kate says

          April 20, 2017 at 1:58 pm

          Super helpful. 😀

          Reply
  2. Eva says

    June 8, 2014 at 1:26 pm

    May I use icing colors?

    Reply
    • Kate says

      June 8, 2014 at 10:09 pm

      I’m sure that would work too, just use a few drops. Thanks for your comment Eva. 🙂

      Reply
    • Jessica says

      April 19, 2017 at 12:49 am

      Yes. Also, liquid water colors work really well, and the colors stay a little truer.

      Reply
      • Kate says

        April 20, 2017 at 1:58 pm

        Great feedback Jessica. Do they not make a pasta soggy?

        Reply
  3. Helen Toll says

    March 18, 2016 at 1:14 pm

    Hi

    I was hoping you use you image of the pasta with my students to design a key as part of their science work. This image would need to be uploaded onto our online site as well as printed in their leaflet. Can you please advise. The image would be used for educational purposes only.
    Helen

    Reply
    • Kate says

      March 20, 2016 at 9:05 pm

      Hi Helen,
      I give you permission to use one image. Thank you for contacting me.

      Reply
  4. Pauline says

    January 26, 2017 at 6:24 am

    How do you get the colours of pasta so vibrant. When I tried this my pasta colours came out so wishy washy. I used liquid food colouring from my local supermarket. Do you use a different type of colouring. Thank you

    Reply
    • Kate says

      January 26, 2017 at 9:55 pm

      Hi Pauline. Thanks for your comment. It can be a bit tricky. You need to use as much food colouring as you can without making your pasta soggy. If you felt like your colour was a little wishy washy, I’d probably suggest colouring your pasta a few time over a few days, just enough that it doesn’t make the pasta too damp. Might be worth trying that? Best of luck with it Pauline.

      Reply

Trackbacks

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    May 19, 2014 at 8:40 am

    […] has been over the last week or so that I brought you two instructional posts on how to colour pasta (the quick and easy way) and another where I shared my go-to playdough recipe. For a bit of fun I decided to combine both of […]

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  2. Our Summer Bucket List + Free Download | MRKT – vintage, handmade, restored says:
    June 5, 2014 at 1:02 am

    […] – Make some beautiful “jewelry” with this technique […]

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  3. Autumn Treasure Basket | Visit from the Stork says:
    September 17, 2014 at 2:10 am

    […] Red, yellow and orange dyed pasta and rice. This link has some more information on how to dye pasta. • Pine cones • Leaves • Feathers • Coloured […]

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  4. Autumn Treasure Basket - Visit from the Stork says:
    November 11, 2014 at 6:47 am

    […] Red, yellow and orange dyed pasta and rice. This link has some more information on how to dye pasta. • Pine cones • Leaves • Feathers • Coloured […]

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Welcome
Hello and welcome!
My name is Kate and I am a mum to two little girls, Possum and Boo. We have lots of fun together learning with play at home and are pleased to share some of what we do with you.
Read my about page to find out more.

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