Dyed Rainbow Spaghetti Noodles for Messy and Sensory Play

This brightly coloured rainbow spaghetti is super simple to make and is SO much fun to play with! The rainbow dyed pasta noodles are fantastic for sensory play as well as developing and encouraging your child’s fine motor skills, creativity and imagination. And did I mention it’s oh so fun?!

What you’ll need:

– 1 packet of spaghetti – cooked
– food colouring – as many different colours as you’d like
– 1-2 Tbsp cooking oil
– resealable bags
– containers
– kitchen utensils e.g. tongs (child-sized ones are great), ladle, slotted spoon, fish slice etc

How to make rainbow spaghetti:

Divide the cooked spaghetti into separate resealable bags – one bag for each colour that you are going to make. Add a few drops of food colouring to each bag of spaghetti along with a little bit of oil to help the colour spread evenly and prevent the noodles from becoming too sticky. Seal up the bag and mix well until the pasta is evenly coloured.
Leave the spaghetti to sit in the bags for around 10-15 minutes, then rinse under cold water to remove any excess food colouring. (Please note, your child’s hands may still get tinged with colour).
Divide the rainbow spaghetti into separate containers.

Set out the containers of rainbow spaghetti (it’s a great idea to explore this sensory material outside), along with various kitchen utensils and an empty container.

Let your child explore the spaghetti – they may or may not enjoy the feel of it in their hands!
Using the tongs is a great way to develop fine motor skills, and threading the rainbow spaghetti through the holes in a slotted spoon is fantastic for a child’s hand eye co-ordination.