This rainbow spaghetti sensory activity is perfect leading up to St. Patrick’s Day or really, anytime during the spring or summer. This activity can be a bit messy so you may want to do it in the bathtub or outside. Otherwise, we would recommend putting down a waterproof tablecloth for this sensory play.

Invite your child to explore the rainbow spaghetti as a sensory activity, mixing the colors together. You can keep the spaghetti in the pan or transfer it to a sensory bin. 

Rainbow Spaghetti Sensory Activity

During the activity, you can talk with your child about the colors of the spaghetti, the way it feels in their hands (even making comparisons to other items, like dry spaghetti), and so on. It’s a great way to encourage language and vocabulary development.

Supplies needed:

1 box of spaghetti noodles (supplies to prepare: pot, water, colander, olive oil, pan)

food coloring (rainbow colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple)

6 plastic zipper sandwich bags 

large pan 

sensory bin

(This is a taste-safe mixture!) 

Instructions:

Cook the spaghetti according to the directions on the packaging. Drain using a colander.

After cooking and to prevent the spaghetti from sticking, use a small amount of olive oil and mix it through the noodles. Do not use too much or it may be too oily. You can start out with a few drops at a time.

Pro Tip: This will help the noodles move about freely in the child’s hands during sensory play vs. it clumping into a sticky, giant mess!

Place the spaghetti noodles on a pan and allow the noodles to cool down completely. 

Once the noodles are cooled down, separate the noodles equally into the sandwich bags.

Squirt food coloring into each bag. You’ll be using about 20+ drops of food coloring for each bag to color well. 

Close the bag well and gently shake the bag around to color the noodles. If you notice that some of the noodles aren’t colored well, you can add more drops of food coloring. 

When the noodles are colored completely, transfer them to a large pan to help them dry a bit. 

Pro Tip: Because of the olive oil, these will have a slightly oily texture when handling. Use a smock or have a set of paper towels nearby for the child to wipe their hands on after handling. Wash hands after use.