Pasta isn’t just an easy dinner idea anymore. When uncooked, these hard shells are the perfect materials for an afternoon craft. Scroll on to read about cute cat necklaces made from macaroni, how pasta can teach kids about the human body and help them discover how to make patterns.
photo: MollyMoo
Macaroni Cat Necklace
This hip cat necklace is the purrrfect accessory for your animal lover, and fortunately enough it’s incredibly easy to make. Thanks to Michelle of DIY blog MollyMoo, this creative project is one any kid can do with a little glue, paint and marker. It’s so easy your DIY-star can make enough for the whole family to wear during dinner! Visit PBS.org for Molly Moo‘s crafty tutorial.
photo: Trish via flickr
Pasta Skeleton
Which bone is connected to what bone? This clever pasta skeleton craft is a great way to expose your little surgeon a little biology. You’ll want a variety of pastas to represent the different type of bones in the body, but remember that it’s not necessarily for your biologist to remember the exact names for everything either. They’ll still step away from this project with a newfound respect and awe for the intricacies of the human body. For printables, materials and resources for this craft, visit Playful Learning here.
photo: Arteascuola
Imprinting with Pasta
Discover a world beyond macaroni and spaghetti and see what other unique noodle shapes there are. Press pasta into clay and explore patterns and shapes. We discovered this creative activity through Arteascuola, a creative blog by Italian artist and educational teacher Miriam Paternoster. The blog even teaches you how to fire the tiles up so that they last longer. Opt for quick-dry clay if you don’t want to use an oven, or if practicing patterns is your only goal, use playdough. Visit Arteascuola for more tile inspiration and instructions on how to make those tiles shine.
Which pasta craft or activity did your kids do? Share the results on Facebook or Instagram with the hashtags #redtricycle!
— Christal Yuen
