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Train Whistle Pasta

Prep Time: < 5 min

All aboard!! This playful oral motor activity invites your child to blow through a piece of penne pasta like a whistle. It encourages breath control, lip rounding, and oral awareness—all important skills for eating and speech. Plus, it’s silly, simple, and fun!

Skills Supported

    Oral Sensory

Age Range

2+ Years

Mess Level

Low Medium High

Supervision Level

Light Moderate Close

Things You'll Need

  • Cooked penne pasta (large enough to blow through)
  • Clean surface or tray
  • Napkin or tissue

Instructions:

  1. Offer your child a piece of cooked penne and invite them to try blowing through it.
  2. Demonstrate how to blow gently through the pasta like a train whistle.
  3. Let them experiment—blowing air, pretending to be a train, or making sounds.

Tips:

  • Great for building oral motor strength and breath control.
  • Keep it playful—pretend you’re the train, use sound effects, or blow along with music.
  • If the soft/wet sensations of cooked penne is too challenging for your child, start with uncooked penne.
  • Have other pieces of pasta if the penne falls apart while playing.