We are big fans of sensory tub experiences at our casa. I like the combination of science, sensory, discovery, and play they provide. We usually do a rice or fríjol tub and often a water bin. But Saturday morning after breakfast, I decided that I needed to spice things up a bit. Lately mi hija, Sofía, has been particularly fond of observing and discovering las lombrices, so I went with that thought in mind and created an Espaguetis Sensory Tub. The results were fantástico! Sofía thoroughly enjoyed the experience! She stretched the espaguetis strands, mixed them together like masa for a cake, threaded individual pieces through a tube and hid her manos many, many times! This sensory tub is easy and barato to set up in your casa. (Easy to clean también!)
You will need:
- A very large plastic container (I used an under-the-bed plastic bin.)
- Thick espaguetis, about 2 pounds
- Dye (I used Crayola bath tabs because they don’t stain skin, but you could easily use whatever food coloring you have on hand.)
- Pot and strainer to cook the espaguetis
- Bowls in which to dye the espaguetis
- Large tongs and cooking spoons to move and stir the espaguetis
We used three colores: Amarillo, Rojo, y Azul. We placed a little bit of water in each bowl and then dissolved the tabs.
Then we added the espaguetis to each bowl and mixed them in well. Once the espaguetis were well-dyed, we strained out the extra water.
From here, I let Sofía take over. First she played with each color separately and then she mixed them all together letting her imagination guide her.
What I liked most about this sensory tub were the numerous extension activities which provided much language-rich discussion opportunities about colors, blending, dyes, absorption, textures and comparisons- -a little diferente than our everyday vocabulary.
The espaguetis can be kept for a week or two in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. I plan on heating them up with a bit of olive oil to restore their awesome slimy state.
I hope you and your familia enjoy the Slimy and Sensacional Espaguetis Sensory Tub Activity as much as mine did!
Can you please include a list of descriptive vocabulary that might come up in this activity. I’m finding that I’m falling short.
Melissa,
Well, I think it depends on the age of your youngster. For Sofia, we talked about mesclando colores: la absorcion, amarillo, azul, rojo, naranja, verde, morado. In terms of texturas we talked about resbaloso, asqueroso, mocoso, blandito y crujiente. For comparisons, we talked about the fideos being mas largo que and mas corto que, mas oscurro o mas claro. Other random vocab with differnt concepts that came up were torcido, chueco, curvas, and recto. I might I have to redo the actividad to remember mejor! Hope this is helpful!
Gracias Eli, haré esto no solo para mi hijo Juan Diego sino para mí! Quisiera sentir los fideos de colores entre mis dedos! =)
Que chevere que tu tambien quieres hacerlo con Juan Diego! Pero ten cuidado…es adictivo!!
It looks like I have a famous niece! Ti amo, Sofia. Hope I spelled that right. In case not…. Tia loves you!!