Know Your Noodles - Grandparents.com

Shopping for pasta with your grandchildren? It's a chance to teach them some Italian phrases and share a few laughs.

You love cooking with your grandchildren almost as much as you love sharing a meal with them. And there are few meals children love more than an Italian feast featuring their favorite pasta shapes. But if you get the kids involved early in your preparation, by bringing them with you to the supermarket to help shop for ingredients, you can make a delicious meal educational as well.

Early-childhood educators often point to the supermarket as an ideal spot for hands-on learning. Stores are full of opportunities to work with young grandchildren on their reading, their math, and their manners. The pasta aisle especially is a place to work on some foreign language skills, if you know the stories behind the names of the kids' favorite noodles. Here is a list of popular shapes and their rough English translations to help your grandchildren get to know their noodles — and some tips on preparation to help you plan your own family feast.

Bucatini (boo-kah-TEE-nee) get their name from the Italian word for hole. Somewhat thicker than spaghetti, these long strands have a hollow center and look like thin straws. They can be used in stir-frys or prepared with sauce.

Campanelle (cam-puh-NELL-ee), or bells, have a cone shape with a fluted, ruffled edge. Hearty campanelle are delicious with meat and chunky vegetable sauces.

Capellini (cap-uh-LEE-nee) takes its name from the Italian for fine hairs, although many also call the variety angel hair. These are thin strings of pasta best served with light sauces or in stir-frys.

Conchiglie (con-KEE-lay) really do look like the conch shells that give them their name. Also known as jumbo shells, these can be filled with meat, cheese, vegetables, even salsa.

Farfalle (far-FAH-lay) may be known to many kids as bow ties, but they get their name from the Italian word for butterflies. These fun shapes brighten any meal for grandchildren. They're also thick enough to use in soups or salads.

Fusilli (foo-ZEE-lee), or rifles, are believed to have gotten their name from the corkscrew-shape brush used to clean rifle barrels. These spiral shapes can easily be broken up or kept intact to be added to casseroles, soups, or salads.

Gemelli (juh-MELL-ee) gets its name from the Italian for twins, and each piece looks like twin strands of spaghetti intertwined in a hug.

Lasagna (luh-SAN-yah) noodles take their name from the Latin word lasanum ("pot"), maybe because these thin sheets of pasta are boiled in a pot before being added to a casserole.

Linguine (LEAN-gwee-nee), from the Italian for little tongues, are long flat strands of spaghetti.

Manicotti (man-ee-COTT-ee) are wide, hollow, open-ended tube shapes that look a bit like the small muffs you might use to warm your hands. Manicotti can be filled with thick fillings.

Orecchiette (or-eh-KEY-ett-eh) are tiny, rounded cups with an extra ridge inside, which makes them resemble the little ears for which they are named. Needless to say, these are great sauce holders.

Penne (PEH-neh), which means quills in Italian, is another common, hearty shape. Penne rigate (ree-GAH-tee) have ridges and can grab more sauce for tastier mouthfuls.

Radiatori (rah-dee-uh-TOR-ee) resemble the radiators for which they are named and can be a fun substitute for spirals in dishes for kids.

Rotelle (row-TELL-eh), from the Italian word for wheels, are better known to grandchildren as wagon wheels. These spokes of pasta are excellent for catching hearty sauces.

Finally, spaghetti is the most popular pasta shape in the United States. But did you know the name means lengths of cord in Italian?

After you and the kids select a pasta for your feast, cook it together. If your grandchildren are too young to drop pasta into a pot of boiling water, let them help set up the portions of dried pasta on a plate before you cook it. One last tip: Cook the pasta al dente, or "to the tooth." Pasta should be tender, but a bit firm to your tooth. Save the mushy stuff for the after-dinner hugs and kisses.

For great Italian recipes from the kitchen of celebrity chef Lidia Bastianich, click here. Elsewhere on Grandparents.com, learn more about cooking with your grandchildren, read our feature about picking blueberries with kids, and find 100 more things to do with your grandchildren this summer.