More Spaghetti, I Say! by Rita Golden Gelman

She can wash the tomatoes and you can chop. Put them in a line from largest to smallest. Invite your child to count out 6 tomatoes.Grated parmesan or romano cheese (optional).a handful of fresh basil leaves or 1 tbsp.6 chopped fresh tomatoes plus half a cup of water, or 1 large can of chopped tomatoes.Here is a quick stir-in sauce that will give your child a good dose of fresh vegetables. The best thing about hot pasta is that it can 'cook' its own sauce. Zip closed and shake to make colorful pasta shapes.Use a different bag for each color you want to make. rubbing alcohol with a few drops of food coloring. Read and eat: While you enjoy one of the delicious pasta dishes below, or one of your own creation, try reading a noodle-themed storybook such as Strega Nona, by Tomie De Paola Alice in Pasta Land (A Math Adventure), by Alexandra Wright or More Spaghetti, I Say! by Rita Golden Gelman. This activity is great small muscle practice, too! He is using the same small muscle skills that will help him learn how to hold a pencil and write her numbers. When he begins to understand the predictability of patterns, he can then relate this understanding to the beginning recognition of how numbers follow a pattern of tens. Pasta pattern necklaces: Making a pasta pattern necklace invites your child to use mathematical patterning skills as he strings the different shapes in a repeating pattern (such as long, long, short long, long, short) onto yarn. Encourage her to try many different ways to sort, based on color, shape and size. Provide a muffin tin or egg carton so she can sort the pastas by category. Next try asking your child how many different ways can you group the shapes and colors together. You will be teaching important skills that help your child understand how numbers increase and decrease in value in a number line. You can explore the seriation of sizes by creating a sequence or line of pastas from small to smaller to smallest.

Use the important math vocabulary words of big, medium, small, and even tiny.

Invite your child to examine and explore the sizes and shapes, encouraging her to tell you about what she notices. Sort and classify: Put a wide assortment of different sizes, shapes, and colors of pasta in a bowl. What makes one piece of pasta heavier than the other? Which feels heavier? Then get out a balance scale and check out his estimation. Weigh it! Encourage your child to make a mathematical estimation by asking: Which weighs more, dry or wet pasta? Before actually weighing it to see, ask your child to hold about ten wet pieces of pasta in one hand and ten dry pieces in the other. What follow are ideas for both learning and eating - mangia! And preparing a pasta recipe can open the door for kids to learn fractions, sequence, measurement, and more. Variously shaped dried pastas can be counted, compared, sorted, patterned, weighed and measured. Pasta is always a big hit with little kids.