Sensory Play: Rainbow Spaghetti

I decided that when I went back to work I wanted to make up for the time I lost out on with Willow. Obviously now I have to cram a lot more in the days I am at home, be it washing, hoovering or just general cleaning, but the last thing I want to do is take away from time with my little tree. I thought that once a week I would try to set up some sort of activity, something a bit different to just playing toys that we could enjoy together, or in this case with Auntie Abbie and Auntie Em.

The best thing about this is that it cost me less than £3. The spaghetti was 29p a packet and the food colouring was around 70p each, all from Aldi. It probably kept her entertained and in one room for longer than any of her toys. Normally after about 10 minutes she remembers that there's cupboards in the kitchen full of things for her to empty and off she goes. I'm pretty sure the Boo's packets of cat food spend more time spread around the floor than in the cupboard these days. I thought I'd talk you through how I made it.

• Start by cooking your spaghetti as you normally would. Drain and rinse under cold water.
• Divide the spaghetti into bags depending on what colours you want. I considered adding in purple and orange but thought given it was my first attempt I wouldn't overcomplicate. I would also recommend zip lock bags over ones that you can just tie up.
• Add the food colouring to each bag and a drop of vegetable oil. This helps to coat the spaghetti better. I think my blues and greens looked a bit paler than I'd hoped but don't be afraid to start small and add more colouring in.
• Seal your bags and shake and squelch your spaghetti to spread the colour around.

• Once the spaghetti is coated, open the bags and just let them sit for as long as possible to let the colour fully soak in. I left mine for about 15 minutes and I think it could have done with being left for longer.
• Rinse each colour just to remove any excess colouring off, then I tipped it straight into the plastic tub to dry off a little bit.

And then the fun can begin...

I don't think Willow was even sure what to do to start with, but that only lasted about 10 seconds, then her hands were straight in there and a handful of yellow spaghetti went straight in her mouth. She played for probably about an hour, kept quiet with Auntie Abbie and Auntie Em. Needless to say it was a hit - thank god!

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