Shoe laces and pasta develop delicate fine-motor skills in preschool tots

Great Aunt Sue, the early-childhood educator sez:
Don't forget to start on that fine-motor practice early.  Buy a set of colorful shoe laces and some pasta to help preschoolers develop fine-motor skills that are necessary for writing. Make sure if you are buying macaroni that it can be strung!  I have gotten some that the hole is too small for anything. The best to use are ziti, rigatoni and wheels. And if you want to color it, just add a tablespoon or two of rubbing alcohol, and a drop or two of food coloring into a zippered plastic bag and shake. This is also good to use to talk about color mixing - red and yellow make orange, etc. or just experiment to see what you get!  Lay out to dry before stringing.
Bonus: You can also use colored pasta and glue to decorate a picture frame or drawing, etc.