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Spaghetti Play

October 16, 2012 by Kate 7 Comments

Spaghetti sensory play for babies
Children of all ages love to get involved in spaghetti play. You can simply colour the wonderful long strands or simply leave them uncoloured. Babies particularly love this type of play and parents don’t have to be too worried if they put it in their mouth as it’s all completely edible!

Honestly, there really is so much learning potential with this activity. Children can pull and tug at the long coloured strands and feel the texture of the spaghetti with their fingers and toes. It’s wonderful as an early fine motor activity for babies and develops sensory awareness.

How to colour spaghetti for play

You will need –

  • dried spaghetti
  • water
  • pot
  • food colouring (optional)
  • towel
Over cook the spaghetti by 3 minutes more than suggested on the packaging. Drain the water and rinse the spaghetti under cold water. Lay it out on a tray and as it cools be sure to shake it apart regularly, separating the strands.
Add two or three drops of food colouring. I suggest you don’t add any more as it may stain little fingers.


You might remember we coloured corn kernels and coloured rice, the colouring process is basically the same. Shake apart the spaghetti as often as required and wait 24 hours for the colouring to set inside the pasta.
Coloured spaghetti for play

Let the fun begin!!!! 
I recommend laying out an old, clean towel or something similar as you can expect the spaghetti stands to spread out over the area you have your child playing. This type of activity is lovely to do outside with your little one on a nice day but can also be done indoors without any problems.
Baby playing with spaghetti

Possum (aged 10 months) found this to be instantly attractive to look and play with. She was possibly drawn to the variety of colours I used and the cool feeling of the spaghetti stands. She was interested from the moment she saw it.outdoor sensory fun for babies using spaghetti

Is there anything better than hearing your little one giggle and giggle and giggle?
We were both in fits of laughter!

edible sensory fun and play for babies using spaghetti

 

Moving inside, Possum began to taste the spaghetti. I love that this is an edible type of sensory activity, which is especially suitable for babies. Of course, you need to actively supervise your child, as with all of my activities and use your own discretion and knowledge of your child’s capabilities.

Somehow in all the wonderful play, a few stands of coloured spaghetti found their way between her toes.
Adorable!
Quite honestly, this is a great sensory activity for children of all ages. Your little one will love it and it’s a great way to expose them to a texture that might not be very familiar to them. Feel free to comment below and let me know your own personal experience of using this type of sensory play with your own child.

Would your child love this type of sensory play? 

Here are some other ideas you might like –

Fun ways to play with coloured rice   Bath Paints using 2 ingredients  How to dye corn kernels for play

Popular ebooks featuring Laughing Kids Learn –

Zero to Two: Book of Play    Three to Five Playful Preschool ad

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Filed Under: 0 - 12 months, Play, Recipes, Sensory Play Tagged With: babies, sensory play, toddlers

Trackbacks

  1. How to dye corn kernels for play - Laughing Kids Learn says:
    February 27, 2014 at 7:53 am

    […] How to dye spaghetti for play […]

    Reply
  2. DIY Baby Play Ideas - Laughing Kids Learn says:
    September 11, 2015 at 10:44 pm

    […]  Discovery Bowl  A simple bowl of safe goodies ready for a baby to explore is great for basic investigations.      DIY Baby Rattle  Have you seen the cost of baby rattles these days?  No need to buy them when you can make better ones yourself.    Art with Ice Cubes Using coloured ice is a great way to get baby creating their first art piece.     Sticky Fingers  Many people don’t allow their child to explore the sense of stickiness.  Here is a great way to help your baby do this.  […]

    Reply
  3. Playing with rainbow coloured spaghetti - Laughing Kids Learn says:
    October 12, 2015 at 10:09 am

    […] might remember a number of years ago I did this spaghetti play activity with Possum (now 3.5 years). She absolutely loved it and so I was really excited to do it again, but also […]

    Reply
  4. 50+ Super Fun Indoor Activities for Kids! says:
    January 18, 2016 at 2:55 pm

    […] Color Spaghetti Play […]

    Reply
  5. 25 Ways to Have More Fun with Your Newborn says:
    August 18, 2016 at 8:30 pm

    […] 19. Spaghetti Play […]

    Reply
  6. Five Simple and Fun Outdoor Activities for Toddlers – Raising Hamilton says:
    June 14, 2018 at 12:39 am

    […] perfect place to do some of the messier sensory art activities, like letting little one play with coloured spaghetti or cornstarch quicksand.  Toddler will enjoy the variety of textures and canvases at his […]

    Reply
  7. Our Top 5 Fun and Simple Toddler Outdoor Activities! – Raising Hamilton says:
    July 31, 2018 at 9:57 am

    […] perfect place to do some of the messier sensory art activities, like letting little one play with coloured spaghetti or cornstarch quicksand.  Toddler will enjoy the variety of textures and canvases at his disposal […]

    Reply

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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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