Additional Learning Resoucres for The Build Your Masterpiece Class Adventures in Italy: Book Inspired Learning for the Children’s Book “Strega Nona” by Tomie dePaola
Today we will read about Strega Nona’s Pasta Pot, learn how to make a clay pinch pot and add our own pasta noodles out of clay! To finish this lesson, we will make our own pasta from hand. Feel free to take as long as you need to finish this lesson before proceeding to the next.
READ:
Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola
Strega Nona Her Story as told to Tomie dePaola by Tomie dePaola
Living in Italy by Chole Perkins
Learn more about Tomie dePaola and his Artistic Vision:
PAINT:
Let’s be inspired from the story of Strega Nona and create our own Clay Pinch Pots with Pasta Noodles flowing out, in memory of Strega Nona’s Pasta Pot. Will your pot have magical powers like Strega Nona's?
Clay Pinch Pot with Noodles Spilling Out
Supplies Needed:
wet cloth
news paper
bowl of water to create the slip
garlic press
butter knife
acrylic paint or mod podge + paint brushes
Watch how to make a Simple Pinch Pot by the Clay Teacher on YouTube:
Method for making a Pinch Pot:
Roll a ball of clay, the size of your palm. Encourage your kids to be open to making mistakes in this process, and keep trying.
When you have a nice ball, pat it down on the table to create a flat surface on your ball.
From there, you want to press your thumb into the flat side of the ball, and turn the ball around as you press in more and more to create a hole.
Soon you will have pushed through the clay, and have made a pot. You can add a handle, and any other details you would like. Encourage your kids to use their imagination and create what they desire.
Now it’s time to create our pasta noodles. Using a garlic press, place some clay into your press, and press down firmly. Out will come long noodle-like clay. (this is also a fun technique to make hair)
Using your butter knife, cut off your noodles.
You can make lots and lots of noodles, and fill your pot with noodles, or you can create a small batch of noodles that can be placed in and out of your pot, which you allow to dry on it’s own. It’s up to you!
Use your water to create a slip, and secure your noodles into your pot, if desired as well as your handle and any accessories.
Once your clay projects have dried, you can paint them with acrylic paint to seal them, or use mod podge for a clear and sealed finish.
Re-read the book Strega Nona again with your kids, and talk about what they’re favorite parts of the story were, and what they think Big Anthony should have done.
Cook:
Today we will be making our own Homemade Pasta Dough, to make our own noodles, alot like Strega Nona’s Pasta Pot! Find the recipe in our PDF Lesson plan here.
Watch this video to see how the method works:
Pasta Sauce Videos:
Check out how to make a varied version of Pasta al Burro that we also have included in this Learning Pack, with this video below:
*Side note, with the first video, turn on closed captioning, as he speaks Italian, and this sauce is usually paired with fettuccine, however you can pair it with your homemade noodles today! And with the second video, his recipe is slightly different than our recipe, it has more ingredients, but we could not seem to find a video of our exact, simple recipe. Enjoy!
Share:
If you are looking for a Tomato-based Pasta Sauce, here are some wonderful videos for you to check out!
Please share with us your Pasta Pot Masterpieces, with clay and noodles, as well as you coloring pages from this Book Inspired Adventure on Instagram! We love to see them, and share in our stories or feed!
When you have completed this adventure with pasta, you may enjoy one of our other Adventures in Italy, or Ireland! Stay tuned, we are releasing Advenutes in Italy 6 very soon, which is all about Italian Renassiance Gardens, Villas, Dukes, and of course, LEMONS! You wont want to miss it!
