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Cheap easy art for preschoolers! These would look so cool in a shadow box frame.  Macaroni seems like the quintessential crafting material for young children.  There is so much you can do with it.  It’s super cheap and you likely have a reaaaallly old package of pasta sitting around in the back of your cupboard somewhere that will likely never get boiled.  I found about 5 boxes of crazy old pasta deep in a cabinet at work (I’m a reggio inspired art teacher), and thought here we go.   Right next to the pasta bags were a box of old records.  Even better! Macaroni Challenge – Game On.

Cheap easy art for preschoolers! These would look so cool in a shadow box frame.  Have you tinkered with pasta before?  It’s really freaking fun and there are about a million and one things you can make with pasta of all kinds.  In fact, the Rockin’ Art Moms (aka the RAMS) have put together this awesome challenge called…

Pasta Art Projects for Kids - The Macaroni Challenge!#themacaronichallenge 

We are inviting YOU, yes YOU, to join us in making anything you can think of either with your little ones or on your own with macaroni.  “Macaroni” encompasses all types of pasta and anything goes as far as what you create.  It can be a necklace, a sculpture, a pasta hut, anything!  Just post on the RAM Facebook page, instagram or twitter and hashtag #themacaronichallenge.

Cheap easy art for preschoolers! These would look so cool in a shadow box frame.  Why should you partake in #themacaraonichallenge you ask?

Because it’s awesome and fun for one.  And also because there is a super duper

RAM GIVEAWAY!!!!

All projects posted on the The Rockin Art for Kids Facebook Page  will be entered in an amazing Rockin’ Art Moms Book Giveaway and a lot of RAMS have written amazing books! ENTRIES RESTRICTED TO RESIDENTS OF THE US AND CANADA ONLY. (sorry about that but we’d still love to see your macaroni work!) The winner will be selected at random from the entries and announced on Instagram and the Rockin’ Art for Kids Facebook page on Sunday May 3, 2015

SCRATCH THAT!  WE’VE EXTENDED THE DEADLINE!!! MAY 11TH IS THE FINAL DAY TO ENTER #THEMACARONICHALLENGE 

WHAT WILL YOU MAKE??

Pasta tinkering trayWe made crazy cool pasta sculptures to kick off the macaroni challenge from a tinkering tray that the kids just loved.

Materials

pasta

glue

cd, record or piece of cardboard for the base

spray paint of your choice (we used gold)

neon craft paint

Cheap easy art for preschoolers! These would look so cool in a shadow box frame.  Do you have a lazy susan?  I’ve found they work really well in the art studio.  Kid’s love to spin them around and choose their materials.  I filled one with all the found pasta and it looked so pretty and inviting. Then I layed out all the records and cd’s we found alongside the pasta tray and set up some glue in bowls with paint brushes.  If you don’t have any old records or cds, you can cut up a piece of cardboard for the art sculpture base and it will work just as well.

We’ve been talking a lot about sculpture in the art studio, so these pasta sculptures were a great extension of our conversations.  The kids were encouraged to choose pasta that interested them and use it in an interesting way to create their own sculpture.

Cheap easy art for preschoolers! These would look so cool in a shadow box frame.  This one was particularly exciting.  It’s a sculpture of “a sunflower,” by a 4 year old.  We also saw “pizza sculptures,” and a few funny faces. I think they all came out kind of punk rock.

Cheap easy art for preschoolers! These would look so cool in a shadow box frame.  Once the glue dried, we decided to spray paint the sculptures gold and use the neon paints we had left over from our neon lamp shades to paint them.  The results were pretty outstanding.  Right now they are pinned up to a bulletin board in our studio.  I’d love to figure out an inexpensive way to put each one in a shadow box.  We may have to make our own.  They’d look so cool and special I think.

Cheap easy art for preschoolers! These would look so cool in a shadow box frame.  So, that’s how we are kicking off the macaroni challenge this week.  There are tons of other RAMS participating in this amazing challenge.  You have to click over to their posts for inspiration.

Art Bar Blog Art Assemblage with Kids

Handmakery A Modern Macaroni Masterpiece

Mer Mag Re-think the Macaroni Necklace

Tiny Rotten Peanuts Macaroni Mosaics

Willowday Macaroni Pom Pom Necklaces

Buggy and Buddy Pasta Mosaic Art Project for Kids

Pink Stripey Socks Pasta Frames for Kids

Babble Dabble Do Pasta Crafts Stained Glass

Learn Play Imagine Painting Pasta Art

Pysselbolaget  Pretty Pasta Pendents

Picklebums Pasta Drawing Prompt

The Artful Parent Pasta Art Activities for Kids

Amazing ideas for little kids!Don’t forget! We’d love to see what you make for #themacaronichallenge Just use the hashtag and enter to win.  It doesn’t have to be mind blowing or anything.  Just have fun and see what happens.  xo Meri

Cheap easy art for preschoolers! These would look so cool in a shadow box frame.