This was a really fun activity for Everly, and I’ve got lots of tips to share with to make sure this lasts longer than one play session (as was the case with us because I actually just winged the whole thing didn’t look at how to store and preserve the pasta). So, first things first, this is a food based project (i.e. you’re cooking pasta) and so don’t expect it to last for more than a couple of days. I assumed it would last just like our box of Rainbow Rice (which is still going strong 6 months later…but this is because the rice wasn’t cooked, silly me). So, as long as you know that going in, then you’re all set!

I used a whole packet of pasta (a bit of a rare commodity these days with us being on Lockdown here in South Africa) but perhaps you have a little stash and can spare one. We don’t really eat pasta (not because we don’t like it....I LOVE PASTA) but because we follow a loosely low carb way of eating so I made sure to buy a pack of spaghetti before Lockdown so I could do this activity with Everly. You could actually use any pasta, but spaghetti made really fun coloured worms.

Then you need oil of some kind…and then food colouring.

There are two ways of going about this. You can do what I did (which was awfully time consuming) and boil separate batches of water for each colour you want to make. I thought this would make the colours more vibrant, but I’ve been told the other method does indeed work just as well.

Bring water to boil with a good dollop of oil (use more than you think you’ll need to keep the pasta nice and slimey) and then add your pasta and food colouring. Or cook your pasta first and then use separate plastics bags to make separate colours. Allow to cool and then place in a container of sorts. I used a big plastic box.

Some tips:

• Rinse the pasta in vinegar after cooking to help preserve it for a few days (although I’m not sure if you should rinse it before putting the food colouring in…as I haven’t tried this step yet).

• Dry it out a bit in the sun after playing, to help preserve it for a few more days.

Just bare in mind how squishy the pasta can get. I left Everly for a few minutes and came back to pasta pieces squashed into the mat by our front door…this wasn’t fun to clean up at all. So best to set up a nice big area to play on that you can clean up afterwards. Or better yet, set it up outside where the dogs can help ‘clean’ up the mess once you’re all done.

Happy playing friends!

Here are more fun activities to do with your little ones: