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



Preschool and Toddler Dance Party!

The Library Village decided to dance away our winter blues recently with a Preschool and Toddler Dance Party!  Forty little ones joined us for an hour of dancing and fun!  Can someone say bubble machine?  Oh yes.  We had one of those too. 

We decided to use all prerecorded music for our dance party.  This way we could burn all of the songs to one cd and not have to fumble around between songs.  (By the way, this worked great because we were able to keep the little ones attention throughout the entire program)  We also knew we wanted to use instruments and other fun props so we grouped songs based on the prop with a sprinkling of free dancing in between.  This really helped keep the program moving and allowed us the opportunity to pass out and collect the various props. 

The dance party was divided into two sections, each thirty minutes long.  The first thirty minutes we all danced together to our playlist.  The kids loved all the songs (with the exception of The Fox song.. What!?)  And the ending?  It was magical.  We watched all the little ones sing their hearts out to Let It Go while throwing their scarves into the air.  Wow. 

After all that dancing, we slowed it down for the second half.  We supplied a small snack and juice box to our tiny dancers and offered them the opportunity to make a craft.  We chose paper cup maracas.  They were super simple to make.  Take two paper cups (we had different colored paper cups), fill with some macaroni, and tape together with decorative duct tape.  We also had stickers to add more pizzazz.  Remember I mentioned a bubble machine?  It was the hit of the party!  Poor Miss Kristen was surrounded by little ones, holding the bubble machine, until the cd finally ended.
 

After it was all over, we really couldn't think of how it could've gone any better!  And that is an awesome feeling to have after a program! We are already planning another for in the summer! 

The Playlist:

Clap Your Hands - cd: They Might Be Giants - No!
Shake Your Sillies Out - cd: Raffi - More Singable songs
The Milkshake Song - cd: Songs for Wiggleworms (shakers)
Sugar Ant - cd: Caspar Babypants - Hot Dog! (shakers)
The Freeze - cd: Greg and Steve - Kids in Motion
Bean Bag Rock - cd: Bean Bag Activities and Coordination Skills (bean bags)
Hot Dog! - cd: They Might Be Giants - Here Come the 123s (bean bags)
The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?) - cd: Ylvis
We are the Dinosaurs - cd: The Best of the Laurie Berkner Band (marching)
List of Dances - cd: Jim Gill Makes It Noisy in Boise, Idaho
Thanks A Lot - cd: Raffi - baby Beluga (rainbow scarves)
Let It Go - cd: Frozen Deluxe Edition Soundtrack (rainbow scarves)