Written By: Makinsey Ekman
The Book We Love
As my kids and I perused the library shelves on a wet spring morning I read the spine of this book. My children were, at the time, OBSESSED with spaghetti, and let's be honest they still are. I opened it up and began skimming through it, as my oldest was on her way to kindergarten that coming fall I thought this book would be great. She absolutely loved it! Not only did it feature her favorite food but she was glad for the insight into grade school it gave her. I personally liked that it brought up that some kids are nice and some kids are mean, but that "Teddy" was nice to everyone.
Get It Here: Amazon, Barnes and Noble
The Activity We Did
"Spaghetti...with extra forks!"
Teddy Spaghetti
Spaghetti Art
You Will Need:
- Plastic forks
- Paint in various colors (red, yellow, green, etc)
- Construction paper
- Paper plate
How To Create:
Prep-Put splotches of different paint colors on the paper plate. Have your child pick whatever color of construction paper they desire.
Spaghetti art- Dip the prongs of the fork downward into the yellow paint and then press and glide fork along the paper. Repeat this process until the kids have as many "noodles" as they want on their construction paper. Next, have your child dip their finger in red paint and put "meatballs" on the noodles.
(Alternative) Flower art- Dip the prongs of the fork downward into one of the paint colors and then press the painted fork onto the paper. Next, have your child choose a stalk color for your flower, but this time they can dip their finger into the paint. Make a line from the flower petals to the bottom of the page. Select another fork and dip it in green paint press quickly over where the stalk meets the bottom of the page (this will be the grass).
The Food We Ate
"Teddy really, really, really loved Spaghetti (because...well...just because)"
Teddy Spaghetti
Spaghetti
You Will Need:
- 1 large onion chopped
- 8-10 mushrooms sliced
- 1/4 cup roasted red peppers chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 12oz tomato paste
- 1qt tomato sauce
- 2qt stewed tomatoes
- 1 pt ricotta
- Spaghetti noodles
- 1 Tbsp Basil
- 1/2 Tbsp Oregano
- 1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper
- 1 medium carrot peeled
- Salt and pepper to taste
How to Make:
Put olive oil in a saucepot (we use a 5 qt one for this recipe) over medium heat, Once the oil has heated through, toss in the chopped onion along with a dash of salt and pepper. Once the onion has started to become more opaque add the sliced mushrooms. Saute until mushrooms have softened and darkened in color. Next, add the roasted red pepper and garlic and cook for an additional minute.
Add in the tomato paste and saute it with the veggies until it takes on a rust-like color (approx. 2-4 min). Then pour in the tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, and ricotta along with the basil, oregano, and cayenne. I usually also add a pinch more salt and pepper here as well. Stir and let it come to a simmer.
Once the sauce is simmering turn down the heat to low, add in the whole peeled medium carrot, and cover for 1-2 hours. (The carrot will bring a sweetness into your sauce without needing sugar, but will need to be removed before serving). Taste the sauce and make any spice adjustments if necessary.
Cook noodles following the instructions on the box. Once noodles are cooked, ladle sauce on top and enjoy!
Other Fun Ideas
"Can anyone tell us what they did over the summer?"
Teddy Spaghetti
Teddy Spaghetti Wordsearch
You Will Need:
- Printable
How to Play:
Print out the below file for however many children you have and pass out the highlighters! This wordsearch made up of different words related to the book. It is geared towards children ages 6/7.
(Alternative): If you do have younger children who aren't reading yet like my youngest I just have them look for certain letters. (For example: highlight all the B's pink and all the A's blue).
Other Activities
Some other fun resources for the book, and other crafty ideas that we didn't do... yet.
- Picnicking: Pack up a picnic lunch with everyone's favorite and head to the local park. Bring enough to share in case new friends are made. :)
- Dress up: At the beginning of the book, Teddy talks about wearing his favorite cape and his favorite books. Have your kids dress up in all their favorite things and take pictures in their favorite places.
- "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" Movie (2009): While this movie isn't related to this particular book it does carry the same theme of a young person finding their place and eventually making friends.
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