Kool-aid Dyed Pasta (Growing A Jeweled Rose)

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There are so many ways to use dyed pasta noodles in kids activities. You can use them for arts and crafts, making pasta necklaces, sorting, counting, grouping, simple maths, and for fabulous sensory play.... and that's just to name a few. The other day I did a bit of experimenting to see if I could make kool-aid dyed pasta, and it worked a treat!

Kool-aid Dyed Pasta

The kool-aid dyed pasta turned out vibrantly colored, and the addition of scent was a simple way to make dyed pasta even more fun!
Materials (affiliate links provided)

Water
Dry pasta noodles (we used ziti, rigatoni, penne, and shell noodles)
Kool-aid packets (No sugar added)

Food coloring
Zip seal bags

Method You will need one zip seal bag for each color of pasta you wish to make. Here is how we made each color. I poured two cups of pasta into each bag. Then I combined 1/8 cups of very warm water with one Kool-aid packet and mixed until the Kool-aid was dissolved. Once dissolved I poured the Kool-aid mixture into the zip seal bag along with several drops of food coloring. I wanted super vibrant pasta, so I used a lot of food coloring in addition to the Kool-aid, but this step isn't necessary.

Seal the bag(s) and shake and mix it until all the noodles are saturated in color

Once saturated open the bags and pour the noodles onto a cookie sheet or similar. It will take roughly 6- 8 hours for the noodles to dry. Once our noodles were dry I poured them into a sensory bin so that the girls could explore

They had lots of fun with the colorful noodles, and the whole room smelled fabulous

As Rosie and Jewel played we reviewed early math concepts and sorted the noodles by color

Once sorted we counted how many of each colored noodle was in each cup. Then I gave the girls tubes from our recycling, and they had a blast exploring! Both girls counted to see how many noodles they could fit into their tube

Then I gave the girls a few kitchen gadgets, and they had lots of fun pretend cooking and serving each other.
Another great thing about the Kool-aid dyed pasta is that it will last indefinitely; just store it in a covered bin or container between playtimes. There are so many ways for kids to explore with this simple sensory material, and the noodles are great for crafting, too! Tomorrow Rosie and Jewel are going to make scented pasta necklaces, and they are so excited!
For All the Best Kid Activities
More Fun Ways to PLAY With Kool-aid
Kool-aid FOAM Kool-aid Bubbles Kool-aid Finger Paint