Story Time Crafts - Dyed Pasta!

Miss Sue and I have both jumped into the world of dyed pasta for various children's programs, and it is always a hit! Dying pasta is inexpensive, easy to do, and really spices up those boring old macaroni necklaces!

Let's break it down - You'll need:
Pasta - any variety (not cooked)
Rubbing alcohol
Food coloring
Large plastic storage bags (like Ziploc)
A liquid measuring cup
A 1 cup measuring cup

These directions come from Real Life at Home, and are very easy to follow!

Pasta and measuring cup at the ready!

 

Either gel or liquid food coloring works just fine.

Step 1: Pour 1/4 cup rubbing alcohol into your gallon bag, and add several drops of food coloring.

Swish the bag around to mix well.

 

Step 2: Measure 1 to 2 cups of dry pasta and add to the bag.

(I used 1 cup for the elbows because they're smaller, and 2 cups for the rigatoni)



Swish some more to cover the pasta in dye!

 

Step 3: Zip up the bag (push the extra air out first) and lay it flat. Try to make sure the pasta is in a single layer.

I laid my bags in foil-lined pans, just in case any liquid leaked out (None did!).

 



Step 4: Flip the bags over about every half hour or so until they've reached the desired color. This is not an exact science - the world will not end if you don't flip them at exactly the 30 minute mark. (Or, say, if you happen to be a very sleepy, pregnant librarian who fell asleep after only flipping them once, and realized it the next morning. Whoops!)

 

 I made 6 different colors in about 30 minutes. Pink, orange, and yellow all dyed the fastest (within 2 to 3 hours), while blue and purple took quite a while longer (purple takes FOREVER).  Green was somewhere in the middle.

 

Step 5: Line those same pans with paper towels or newspaper, and dump your finished pasta onto them to dry. They will probably need to dry overnight.

 

Miss Sue and I each did this at home on our own time, but you could definitely do it at the library if you have somewhere to lay the bags where no one will mess with them. It sound messy but it really isn't at all.  You could even recruit some teen volunteers to help. It's kind of a fun science experiment!

 

 Think of all you can do with that glorious dyed pasta!

 

Rainbow necklaces!

This is great for practicing fine motor skills with preschoolers and Kindergartners!

 



It's also WONDERFUL for sensory play with babies and toddlers! Just make sure they don't eat it :o)

 

Now don't you want to go dye some pasta before your next story time? Try it out and let us know how it goes!

 

-Miss Kristen



Flannel Friday - A Cowboy Dresses Himself With Care

I just posted my Horsie Story Time, but I had to contribute my Cowboy to Flannel Friday!  Click HERE for the full story time and my best craft EVER!  But for now....

Dress The Cowboy

I found the following poem on THIS WEBSITE.  Actually there are tons of resources out there for a Western story time, and I really recommend this site.  Seeing that they suggested to make the pieces out of felt, that is exactly what I did.  This is in my EARLY days of felting as you can see by my use of markers instead of puffy paint.  I suggest you read the poem aloud and wait for responses from the group.  They will love participating!

A Cowboy Dresses Himself with Care

A Cowboy Dresses Himself with Care.

He starts with long, red ______(UNDERWEAR).

Out in the desert, you don't want to get hurt, 

So the cowboy wears a strong wool ______(SHIRT).

Deserts and prairies are the cowboy's scenes;

To protect his legs, he wears sturdy blue______(JEANS).

The cowboy bent, and ran, and knelt.

To keep his pants up, he wore a leather ______(BELT).

The coyote howls, the old owl hoots.

On his feet, he wears leather ______(BOOTS).

It isn't yellow, so it's not a banana;

Around his neck, he wears a soft ______(BANDANA).

A cowboy is a cowboy, and that is that!

On top of his head, he wore a ten-gallon ______(HAT).

He's all dressed from head to feet,

And now our cowboy can't be beat! 

And here he is dressed! I let the kids each have a piece and let them place the pieces on the cowboy when we got to their piece.  They loved it.  I even left the pieces up for after story time play.

I think kids love to play dress up, and felt is a great medium.  I want to thank Brooke from Reading With Red for hosting Flannel Friday this week.   If you need more information on how you can get involved with the Flannel Friday community, CLICK HERE. Or you can find Flannel Friday on their Facebook page, by following #FlannelStorytime on Twitter or on Pinterest!

Thanks for stopping by!

Preschool Story Time: Giddy-up Horsie!

Here was a theme idea totally based on the craft I had found on Pinterest.  I was so enamored with it, I decided to have a Western theme and bring in the Cowboys and Horses!

Do Cowboys Ride Bikes - Tucker

Written in verse, this book explains some of the things cowboys do and do not do.  It is a good book for new vocabulary and discussion.

Felt Activity - Dress The Cowboy

I found the following poem on THIS WEBSITE.  Actually there are tons of resources out there for a Western story time, and I really recommend this site.  Seeing that they suggested to make the pieces out of felt, that is exactly what I did.  This is in my EARLY days of felting as you can see by my use of markers instead of puffy paint.  I suggest you read the poem aloud and wait for responses from the group.  They will love participating!

A Cowboy Dresses Himself with Care

A Cowboy Dresses Himself with Care.

He starts with long, red ______(UNDERWEAR).

Out in the desert, you don't want to get hurt, 

So the cowboy wears a strong wool ______(SHIRT).

Deserts and prairies are the cowboy's scenes;

To protect his legs, he wears sturdy blue______(JEANS).

The cowboy bent, and ran, and knelt.

To keep his pants up, he wore a leather ______(BELT).

The coyote howls, the old owl hoots.

On his feet, he wears leather ______(BOOTS).

It isn't yellow, so it's not a banana;

Around his neck, he wears a soft ______(BANDANA).

A cowboy is a cowboy, and that is that!

On top of his head, he wore a ten-gallon ______(HAT).

He's all dressed from head to feet,

And now our cowboy can't be beat! 

And here he is dressed! I let the kids each have a piece and let them place the pieces on the cowboy when we got to their piece.  They loved it.  I even left the pieces up for after story time play.

Horseplay - Wilson

All the horses want to do is horseplay all night long!  What is the farmer to do?  This is a fun book that keeps the kids wondering what those crazy horses are up to!


Song and Action Rhyme

She’ll be comin’ round the mountain!

She’ll be comin’ round the mountain when she comes.  She’ll be comin’ round the mountain when she comes.  She’ll be comin’ round the mountain, she’ll be comin’ round the mountain,  she’ll be comin’ round the mountain when she comes.

She’ll be riding six white horses when she comes…..

And We’ll all come out to meet her when she comes…..

Action Rhyme: 10 Little Cowboys

10 little cowboys standing in a row. (Stand up straight)

When they see a pretty girl, they bow like so.(hand behind back and bow)

They ride to the left, they ride to the right, (pretend you are on a horse. Gallop one way, then the other)

and then they shut their eyes and they say good night! (Fold arms and pretend to sleep)

Let's Sing a Lullaby of Brave Little Cowboy - Thomas

Jan Thomas books are hysterical!  I always look forward to using these books in story time.  But remember to go big for maximum laughs!


I couldn't wait to get to my craft, but I had plenty of books ready in case I had an especially attentive crowd.  Here are my extra picks:

Giddy-Up Cowgirl-Krosoczka

Clip-Clop - Smee

She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain - Sturges

Craft - Stick Horses

This took effort but OH MY so worth it!  I did this theme in January so I was able to ask the moms to bring in Christmas Paper Rolls that they had left over from Christmas.  Once I gathered enough, all I needed was brown paper bags for the heads (stuffing was newspaper shreds), markers, colored paper for the ears, yarn for the hair, eyes and masking tape.
The best part was, I used our jingle bells on hand as 'spurs'!  I put a set on each little leg and off we went on a horse parade around the library.  It was so fun!!  Giddy-up!!

The craft made the whole theme worth it.  Usually I do not advocate stuffing together books for the sake of a theme, but horses was a good choice.  Now I am thinking up other ideas for the craft.  Unicorns anyone?

Thanks for stopping by!