Isolation during COVID-19 doesn't have to be boring when you have kids! But I hear other parents online saying they'd love ideas to get their young children off an iPad and into some real childhood play!
Well, have you tried rainbow spaghetti? It's an amazingly fun, easy and cheap way to stimulate your baby or toddler through sensory play!
♡ Our 9 month old son, Brooks, loved the slimy spaghetti feeling and the bright colours! ♡
Here's what you'll need:
1 x packet of long, thin spaghetti (Aldi sells them for approx .75c each!)
5 x colours of rainbow food colouring (Woolworths sells them for approx. $3.70 for four colours in a pack- Queen Fine Foods brand)
5 x medium plastic ziplock bags (for mixing the food colouring)
1 x strainer or colander (for draining the cooked pasta)
Step 1: Cook the pasta as per the packet instructions. Drain the pasta using a strainer/colander, and rinse it under cool running water to cool it down.
Step 2: Evenly seperate the cooked pasta into the four plastic ziplock bags.
Step 3: Squirt 2-3 drops of Queen brand food colouring into the five plastic ziplock bags (use a different colour for each bag), and also add a few drops of water in each bag to help disperse the colour evenly. Seal the five plastic ziplock bags up securely, and mush, squish, spin and blend that colour in! You should see little to no original pasta colour, just your bright food colouring!
Step 4: Once you've added your food colouring to all five of the plastic ziplock bags, pour each bag (separately) back into your strainer/colander and rinse thoroughly under cool running water. This step is important because without a good pasta rinse, the food colouring will end up all over your bub! Rinse well and repeat with the other four bags.
Step 5: Place all of the rinsed pasta into a child-safe open container and place it down on the floor next to them. Let the fun begin! Watch your baby or toddler stimulate their senses as they touch, smell and try to taste this slimy, bright coloured spaghetti!
Tip: you can always add some stimulating objects into the spaghetti tray to add another element of surprise and fun e.g. little toys, wooden blocks or numbers. Feel free to also give your child some kitchen utensils (wooden spoon or tongs) to play!
♡ Enjoy!
Did you recreate this fun sensory food play? Tag us on @thejohannessenfamily so we can check it out! Xx