Yummy Summer Snack Ideas!
I don't know about you, but I'm always looking for fun activities to do with my kiddos over the summers. As a mother of 2, and having been in the field of education for well over 10 years, I thought it would come easy to me to find activities for 2 children of different ages to independently enjoy. Boy, was I wrong. Any activity I usually can come up with for my 4 year old, my 2 year old wants to join in on, but both of them normally require more than I anticipated throughout the activity. I find it difficult at times to provide the attention that is required to both kiddos while we play. I love to cook and bake with them, but this normally results in some sort of inedible disaster (which isn't necessarily bad-it's about the process, right?!) This summer I committed to finding recipes I could make with my kiddos where they could be as independent as possible (and those where I come through in some learning opportunities as well-because..why not?!) I found 2 recipes that I enjoyed trying out with them, and I hope you will too! Both of these recipes really lent themselves well to allowing independence and keeping their little hands busy while I prepped the next steps (all important factors when cooking or baking with kiddos, in my opinion). They not only enjoyed the process but also enjoyed the outcome. Serval seconds of each were served!
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Banana yogurt pops! These are an absolute favorite in my house. They take very little ingredients and are so much fun to eat.
You'll need:
Bananas
Popsicle sticks
Sprinkles
Vanilla yogurt (large tub)
Lay out your parchment paper on top of a cookie sheet. Pre-assemble bananas and popsicle sticks. Break bananas in half and place the popsicle stick through the center. Dip the bananas in the yogurt tub then place on the cookie sheet. Place the sprinkles over the banana with yogurt. Pop bananas in freezer on flat surface. Enjoy!
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Healthy Yogurt Bark (several alternatives online if your kiddo has a nut allergy-this recipe is easy to adapt!)
1/2 cup plain whole-milk Greek or regular vanilla yogurt
3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1–2 teaspoons honey or agave (optional)
2 tablespoons mini chocolate chips
Wrap a small cutting board in plastic wrap. Combine the yogurt, peanut butter, and honey until mixed completely. Spread the yogurt approximately 1/2 in thick. Drizzle additional peanut butter over the top and sprinkle chocolate chips. I like to also melt some chocolate, put it in a baggie, cut an opening, and drizzle over the top. Freeze for an hour then cut into pieces and enjoy.
I noticed that if I gave my two year old a small bowl of yogurt or some banana to munch on while my 4 year old did her part of the cooking it went much better! The hardest part of these recipes for both of my kiddos was simply waiting for them to freeze. We wanted to eat them immediately! A simple switcharoo will do if your kiddos have difficulty with this too- I made sure to have something similar waiting for them when we were finished (a popsicle or a bowl of yogurt). Waiting can be hard stuff, especially when yummy food is involved (in my opinion).
Teaching Tips:
*Have your ingredients prepped and ready to go so you're not having scramble while the kiddos are waiting. You'll be ready to dive right in!
Work on a variety of things while you cook: attributes (hard/soft, cold/hot, etc.), manding (requesting) *place things slightly out of reach to encourage this*, tacting (labeling), colors ("what color is this?", "what color should we do next?"), nonverbal imitation ("do this"), actions ("stir it up!"), cause and effect ("what do you think will happen when we put it in the freezer?", etc. This is not an exhaustive list, rather a jump start to show you how easily activities in the kitchen can lend themselves to natural learning opportunities!
Have fun!
