PASTA! PASTA!

Everyday I watch Governor Cuomo. It's my one set routine.  My daughter sits with me when she can. My friends and I text each other. "He just made me laugh," I type. "And cry," one replies.  It's one daily routine we can have in this upside down world.  Yesterday, he talked about being with his Italian family every Sunday.  They would get together for an early dinner and eat spaghetti and meatballs.  I bet it was awesome. He then shared how he attempted to continue this tradition with his own girls.  Knowing he wasn't a good cook, he would go to an Italian shop, buy the meatballs and sauce but cook it on the stove.  His daughters were skeptical (as they should be if he wasn't a good cook) and would just pick around them not aware they store bought. Joke's on them now.

Today's bipartisan post is dedicated to Governor Cuomo and the theme is pasta.

Daddy Makes the Best Spaghetti

Daddy Makes the Best Spaghetti  by Anna Grossnickle Hines was a "book on tape" my daughter frequently checked out of the library.  It started with a catchy tune that my husband and I still sing. 🎶 Daddy makes the best spaghetti...🎶 The book was published in 1986 so some things about it are dated. For one, not all families look like the one in this book. In fact, mine in 1986 didn't look like it. But, after hearing Cuomo's story about his not making the spaghetti, I just had to kick off the post with it.

The author's website has some ideas you can do related to the book.  Here are a few that can be done together whether you read (or sing) the book:

• Ask people: "What is your favorite food?"  Make a graph to show the results.
• Ask people "What is your least favorite chore?" Make a graph to show the results.
• Make placemats: Use paper that is about 12 x 18" and decorate them (color, paint, collage). Maybe make a special one for each person that you live with. If you happen to have contact paper around, you can cover the front and back with it so they can be wiped off and used over and over again.
• Make a recipe book: Fill in the blanks of this sentence-My _____ makes the best _____. Get the recipe, write it down and then draw a picture to go with it. Do this with different people and foods. Put them together and now you have a cookbook!

Strega Nona

Another favorite of Tari's and her parents 😉 was Caldecott honor winning Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola.  It also has a song we still sing.

You can find a ton of activities online to pair with this book.   Scholastic has a bunch including some great discussion questions (Was Strega Nona's punishment for Big Anthony fair? Why or why not? What punishment would you give him? Why do you think Big Anthony disobeyed Strega Nona? Do you think he would do it again? What does it mean that "the punishment must fit the crime"? What is the theme or message of the book?

If you have play dough around, you can make figures of Strega Nona, Big Anthony, the pasta pot or all three.  Don't have play dough? Most homemade recipes call for cream of tartar, not an ingredient we usually have in the house.  I found this one that doesn't call for it.

This activity guide from Storylineonline has many more ideas including making stained glass pasta, how to have a "pasta party", a pizza recipe and ideas for virtual field trips to Calabria.

Noodleheads

Who doesn't love the Noodlehead books?  These are perfect for our emerging readers.  One even won a Geisel honor.  They are hilarious.  I love using them for choral read alouds with first grade. Even if you can't get the books on Sora, you can still check out this great document filled with activities--bookmarks, coloring pages, word find, games...It should keep you busy for a while.

This is a picture of my friend, Amy from Denver, and I when we were together at ALA in New Orleans in 2018.  FUN!

Noodlemania: 50 Playful Pasta Recipes

Every Friday the fifth grade Reading Ambassadors and I have a lunch meeting.  I've been trying to keep it up virtually.  The past two weeks a strong but small group has been attending.  I shared my screen and we read this cookbook together. It was fun! The use of food coloring in some of the recipes make them look less than appetizing. Ha! I  will definitely be purchasing the print book for the library. It has easy pasta recipes and small facts throughout.  Check it out on Sora and get cooking!

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Who doesn't love this one?  There is an overabundance of ideas of things you can do with this book.  Want to make a "Delicious Wacky Weather Forecast"? Check out this link for tips on how to do it!  I found a couple of different versions of read aloud for the book.

This one is the actual book:

This one is a little longer and goes along more with the movie:

Read the book, watch the movies and compare.  Then maybe you can write the script for movie #3?

Finally...

For my older friends, want to watch a video on how a chef tries to invent new pasta shapes?
She goes on a wacky scavenger hunt (maybe you can make one throughout your house and backyard) and then gets to work in the test kitchen.

Are you hungry yet?  Craving pasta for lunch or dinner? Sorry!  But, don't blame me.  Blame Governor Cuomo 😁 BON APPETITE!