Or. . .Why I’m Picking Up Dry Spaghetti Noodles. . .
This post was actually inspired by my almost three year old twins who dumped a box of spaghetti yesterday. As I was helping them clean up the mess, I had an odd sense of deja vu and I remembered that this is not my first foray into the world of dry spaghetti play. Every single one of my toddlers has dumped an occasional box of dry noodles.
Playing With Their Food
Babies love to play with anything squishy, or crackly. It’s fun to squish through your fingers, or break into a billion tiny pieces. It’s messy–but fun. It’s an important learning skill too. There is tons of cognitive development happening as I watch my kitchen floor become a virtual playground of noodles everywhere!
What They’re Learning
Developing fine motor skills is all about having the opportunity to practice. Frankly, after five kids, I think that some babies are just more naturally interested in the finer details. These are the babies that will spot a piece of colored something on the carpet and pick it up using their index finger and thumb. But helping your baby develop fine motor skills can help later with things like writing and tying shoes (among other skills).
However, there is another reason I don’t freak out at the site of a spilled box of spaghetti. It has to do with indulging curiosity and developing thinking skills. Follow me for a second–baby sees spaghetti. Baby wants to see what spaghetti is. Baby dumps box and discovers long sticks in box break easily, make cool sounds when you drop them and make patterns when you spread them out. Yes–this is all valuable educational play. (And you thought you had to send her to preschool!) Discovery is a key part of a baby learning. Simply “seeing what happens” is a great activity.
Go Ahead. . .Dump the Spaghetti Noodles
I definitely recommend getting some type of large plastic bin before dumping the noodles. Then let your baby break, sort, build and explore the dry noodles. I suggest using spaghetti noodles over other types because it’s very hard to choke on them should they find their way into your baby’s mouth. Enjoy the time to play–after all how often are you allowed to play with your food?
Valorie Delp shares recipes and kitchen tips in the food blog, solves breastfeeding problems, shares parenting tips, and current research in the baby blog, and insight, resources and ideas as a regular guest blogger in the homeschooling blog. To read more articles by Valorie Delp, click here.
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