I often dye spaghetti for messy play. It’s great to add texture and colour to create more enticing tuff tray set ups. I always felt safer using edible foodstuffs when Arlo was tiny because everything would always end up in his mouth. I used to look at tuff tray ideas on pinterest and wonder how to dye spaghetti because I never managed to get bright and vivid colours.
You will need:
- Spaghetti
- Food colouring
- Vinegar
- Olive oil
I’ve tried various different methods and this is the one which works best for me.
- Boil and drain off the pasta as normal, before adding it to a big bowl.
- Add in a splash of olive oil to prevent the pasta sticking.
- Add in a splash of vinegar – I’m not 100% on the science but my colours always seem brighter when I use it.
- Add in your food colouring and mix well.
- Start with a small amount as you can always add more…. it’s surprising how well it takes.
Then voila – it’s done and you can use this for all sorts of different things…. so for example the green makes amazing seaweed. You can check out our tuff tray inspiration post which contains all sorts of fun and creative play ideas which you can try out at home. Arlo recently discovered for himself that spaghetti is also fun to snip and so I left him to practice his fine motor skills with his safety scissors for a good twenty minutes.
No matter how you intend for a tray to be played with, children always find a new innovative way to engage with the resources and that’s the whole point. There are so many benefits to sensory play that I highly reccommend giving it a go.
Mum tip: if you plan ahead you can store this overnight in air tight containers – don’t forget the oil otherwise it will go clumpy.
