Craft a Ruote Pasta Web

      These little Ruote, more commonly known as wagon wheel pasta in America, make interesting design elements in a spider web craft for early learners.

      First, teachers will need to dye these Ruote pasta black:

• Add the dryed Route pasta to a large zip-lock plastic bag. (1lb. per large freezer bag at a time)
• Include a few teaspoons of rubbing alcohol and a few drops of black food coloring inside the bag with the dryed pasta.
• Close the bag tight and shake. 
• Pour this pasta out onto a napkin or paper towel to let it dry either in the sunshine or overnight in a warm place. 

 Left, a view of the Ruote pasta spider web from the side.  Right, a view of the pasta spider web from above.

      Once you have prepared the dried pasta for your young students, you will need to gather the following supplies:

• black construction paper
• white school glue
• dyed black Ruote pasta
• white tempera or acrylic paint
• newsprint to cover the table with
• Q-tips and cast off plastic lids for the gluing process

Step-by-step Instructions:

1. First, have the young students play at arranging the pasta on the table top before actually gluing it down to the paper. Talk to them about the shape, texture and color of the pasta while they experiment with arranging it.
2. Give each student a handful of pasta, a black piece of construction paper, a plastic lid full of liquid white school glue and a Q-tip for dipping into the glue.
3. Demonstrate to them, at their table, how to dip the Q-tip into the glue and then glop it onto the construction paper. This process of applying glue to the paper will help little people add enough glue for the pasta to stick to the paper but not so much glue that they cannot control it's application all together.
4. Now the pasta may be layered on top of the glue and arranged in a web like pattern. 
5. These 'spider webs' will need to dry overnight in the classroom.
6. On the following day students should each be given another plastic lid filled with non-toxic white paint. 
7. Show your early learners how to dip their fingers into the white paint and dab it lightly onto the very tops of the Ruote in order to highlight the pasta's design. 
8. Let the webs dry again. This takes only an hour or less.

More Fall Crafts Using Pasta:

• Pasta Peace Bracelet
• Colored & Glittered Pasta Pumpkins