Toddler Math: Making Colored Pasta!

Description

Toddler Math: Hands on Fun with Colored Pasta. Learn simple math concepts through play! Make brightly colored pasta for hands on toddler math activities that will reinforce counting, recognizing numbers, number representation, sorting and learning about patterns.
This recipe is for 1 cup of pasta of your choice. Use the same ratio for larger quantities. We did a mixture of pasta per color but you could also do a different type of pasta per color if you are doing patterning.

Making Colored Pasta

Materials

  • 1 cup of pasta We like Bowtie, Macaroni, Fusilli (corkscrew), Shells, Penne, or Rotelle)
  • 1 Quart or Gallon Ziploc bag per color. We prefer the freezer bags since they are a little thicker. The regular bags can tear. If you are doing 2 cups or more per color, use the Gallon sized Freezer Ziploc.
  • 1 Tablespoon Rubbing Alcohol per cup of pasta
  • 8-10 drops of food color. Neon Food Dye also produces brightly colored results. Since we did this project, Wilton came out with very vibrant gel dyes with a nice variety of colors.

Other Materials

  • Measuring Teaspoon
  • Small dishes about 2" x 2" to mix alcohol and colors
  • Coffee stir or use a plastic spoon
  • Parchment Paper
  • Paper Towels
  • Cookie sheets or large container
  • Gloves are recommended for adults and art smock or old shirt for child. Food Dye will stain clothes.

Directions to Make Colored Pasta

Download the directions to print here: Colored Pasta Instructions
  • Place one cup of pasta in a Gallon Ziploc bag. Decide if you want to mix different types of pasta or make each type of pasta a different color.
  • Put 1 Tablespoon of alcohol in small container and drop 8-10 drops of food color into alcohol. Mix with coffee stir or the spoon.
  • Pour into Ziploc bag and zip close securely. Shake gently and turn bag over a few times to spread color. Let the bag of pasta sit in the bag for about 10 minutes, turn bag over, and let sit for another 10 minutes.
  • For a deeper color add another 10 minutes. Do not leave in bags for several hours.
  • Place parchment paper on cookie sheet. Open Ziploc and carefully pour out the colored macaroni, spread out in single layer for faster drying and discard the bag.
  • Let the pasta dry thoroughly before storing into a container.
  • Double the alcohol/food coloring if putting two cups into the Ziploc.
  • Repeat for other colors.

Tips and Suggestions

  • We tried both the regular shades and the neon shades of food coloring. Remember that pasta has a base yellow color which will slightly affect the end result but you still can achieve bright results especially with the neon colors. We tried a few of the combinations on the back of the food color box to get other colors by combining a certain amount of drops per color like turquoise, and sky blue.
  • If your child is a vigorous shaker, you might want to use freezer bags, since they are stronger. We did have one regular lunch size Ziploc tear at the top despite careful shaking.
  • There are many variations on the recipe. I read about four different versions and went with a middle version. The more alcohol you put, the longer it will take to dry.


Note: Once the pasta is dyed, it is no longer edible! Use only for toddler math or craft activities. For young toddlers, please monitor carefully.

Toddler Math Activities Using Pasta

Sorting

  • Have a small bowl of colored pasta for your child to sort.
  • Sort pasta in muffin tins either by color or by type of pasta. For young toddlers sort by color and pick only two or three colors to work with at a time.
Sorting Pasta in Muffin Pans

Making Patterns

  • Sort pasta into muffin tins prior to activity to focus on one concept. Sort by color and type. Example: red bow tie, green macaroni, blue fusilli
  • Lay out a dish towel or work at small table.
  • Make simple patterns with the pasta: AB AB AB AB or ABC ABC ABC. If your child is successful with that try more challenging patterns like ABBA ABBA ABBA.
  • If your child is having difficulty, you might draw circles on a sheet of paper, color the circles with crayon to make a pattern first and then have your child match the color with the colored pasta.
Making Patterns with Colored Pasta

Counting

  • Line up a row of pasta. For beginner counters, line up 2-5 pieces until they are successful.
  • Have your child point and count. This will help develop one to one correspondence and will help teach your child to count in an orderly fashion. Many children will count objects randomly and it's difficult to track which ones were counted already.
  • When your child is more proficient at counting. Make two rows with 3-5 in each row. Again practice one to one counting starting with the top row. Again encourage your child to count in an orderly fashion. (Top row first-left to right, 2nd row-left to right, etc.)
Using Pasta to Reinforce Counting

Counting: Recognizing numbers and Representing Amounts

  • Using muffin liners and write the numbers 0-10 on the bottom of each
  • Depending on your child's proficiency, select 1-6 muffin liners to use. Start with one or two muffin liners, choosing lower numbers.
  • Have your child place the correct number of pasta in each cup.
  • When your child is finished, take out one cup at a time, line up the pasta and count. Even if your child is incorrect, always use positive reinforcement, and say, "That was an excellent try." You want to encourage your child to continue playing.
  • This can also be used as a Math Center activity in a classroom.
Muffin Pan Counting with Colored Pasta

Tips and Suggestions

  • Choose only one or two toddler math activities per day. Keep the time appropriate for age and your child's ability to focus. Your child's ability to focus will lengthen with repeated practice doing similar activities. This is a wonderful age to start toddler math activities because children view everything as a game.

Numbers and Number Sense
  • Counting
  • Recognize (Read) Numbers
  • Represent (How many is three?)
  • Quantity (More, Less, Equal)

Patterns, Sorting and Classifying (Algebra and Functions)
  • Sorting Objects by Attribute (color, size or shape)
  • Comparing Objects (color, size, shape)
  • Simple Patterns

The reason counting activities are very important is because it helps to develop the three aspects of numbers.

  • Counting in a sequence out loud: 1,2,3, etc.
  • Understanding how much is 3 and being able to show or give three items.
  • Recognizing and writing numbers.

Pasta Dyed with Easter Egg Dye

Pasta Dyed with Easter Dye
For a really simple way to dye pasta, you can use Easter Dyes. We dropped the pasta into the containers with egg dye for 10 minutes and then laid it on paper towels to dry. We used the basic Dudley dyes with the containers provided. I often buy extra boxes after Easter to have the dyes on hand for projects like this and our Coffee Filter Butterflies.

Other Activities Using Colored Pasta!

Making Pictures with Colored Pasta
See our Colored Pasta Projects HERE for more ways to have fun with colored pasta. This pasta keeps well in a cool dry place in sealed Ziplocs for up to two years with the same vibrancy.