Solar System

August 27, 2012 By
A great excuse to give our kids a variety of fruits, veggies, meats, and cheeses in one snack (while educating them at the same time), is to make the Solar System with them!  Teach your children about the planets in our Solar System (yes, I know Pluto is no longer considered a planet…read on), and give them a healthy snack at the same time!
Using snacks is an amazing way to teach your young child about science.  Take a look at our Volcano post for a good example of this!

I found foods to use for each planet first, then I handed each to my daughter one at a time and had her repeat the names of the planets with me in order.  As she repeated each one, she laid it on the plate (and I spaced them out a little more for the picture).  She normally doesn’t like pepperoni but she ate it with this snack!
Below is a list of which foods I used for each planet:
Sun: mandarin orange, top sliced off and peeled but not separated
Mercury: a red grape
Venus: celery
Earth: kiwi
Mars: strawberry
Jupiter: pepperoni
Saturn: cheddar cheese
Uranus: a slice of string cheese
Neptune: ham
Pluto: (No longer technically a planet) corn
I added Pluto as a way to show my daughter that it was once a part of the solar system but is no longer.
And this one is another solar system I made last week showing the lines of orbit that each planet has.
I prefer the first version, which do you prefer?
The solar system above was made to show how each planet orbits the sun in our galaxy, the milky way.
I made the lines in the photo below as well as the stars in the photos above using this technique:
Variations:
Make your planets out of anything you have in the house that you can cut into circular shapes.  Use your own creativity for this one!

If you enjoyed this post, check out our other educational snacks

 

Volcano
Egyptian Pyramids
Alphabet Lunch (practice your ABC’s)
Stoplight (to learn about traffic rules)
The Flood
Jonah in the Big Fish
David and Goliath
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See?  (Includes a lunch and learning activity)
Joshua and the Battle of Jericho
Snowflake Pancakes (plus 25 great educational activities for the snow)

 

 

 

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The Fall of Man (Genesis 3)

August 20, 2012 By
This lunch is intended to teach the kids about the fall of man.  Read Genesis 3 or “The Sneaky Snake” story in the children’s bible.  Talk about how the serpent deceived Eve into thinking she would be like God by eating of the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Create the tree by using a a trunk of a ham sandwich, cut into the shape of a “Y”.  Use cucumbers for the greenery on top, and any red fruit you have on hand for the fruit that Eve picked.  I used strawberries.
Next, create Eve by using four baby carrots, positioned with a torso and legs, and cut one in half or into fourths lengthwise to use for her arms.  Create her head by placing a round cracker on top of the body.  Add raisin eyes, a strawberry mouth, and shredded cheese for hair.
Finally, use blueberries to make the serpent in the tree.  I put a tiny smiley face on him using the shredded cheese, because he was very glad to cause the woman to sin against God.
This lunch was one of my daughter’s favorites yet!
Enjoy!

(linked HERE)

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Flower Pot Snack

August 13, 2012 By
When my daughter and I first started making food art, one of the first creative snacks we thought of was this basket of flowers.
The best thing about making a flower arrangement is that it is totally customizable.  You can make flower out of just about any nutritious food.  Fruits and vegetables are especially perfect because of their bright, beautiful colors.

First, I’ll share how we made this one, then I’ll give you some suggestions for alternative flowers.
Place a graham cracker at the bottom of your plate for a basket.  
Next, thinly slice 1-2  celery sticks flower stems.  If you feel so inclined, you can add “leaves” made out of sugar snap peas, avocado, more celery, green apples, or green grapes.
  Now, create four flowers.  Here’s what we used for ours.
Flower 1:  carrots and a grape.  Flower 2: bananas and the bottom of a strawberry.  Flower 3:  a piece of toast with jam cut into the shape of a tulip.  Flower 4: rosette made of ham.  

I like this snack because of the variety of food groups represented, as well as the way it showcases the beautiful colors of the fruits and veggies.

Other great foods to use for flowers:

strawberries

peaches

nectarines

avocado

watermelon

apples

avocado

bell pepper

hummus: pipe onto plate with a beautiful tip using your cake decorating supplies!

Use your imagination!  I’m sure you will come up with a fantastic plate!  Make one today!

If you enjoyed this snack, you might like our other flower snacks, as well as our nature inspired snacks and everyday scenes.

(Sharing HERE)

Did you enjoy today’s snack?  Learn more about this blog here.

 

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The Very Hungry Caterpillar

August 4, 2012 By

We all love the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle.  
Take a morning and read the story with your child, then talk about all the foods the caterpillar ate, and perhaps talk about which of the foods he ate were nutritious and which were not. 
Then, create him yourself!  Take a large strawberry and slice to create his head.  Next, create his eyes by using little bits of pineapple cut into circles and place sliced green jelly belly candies in front.  Form his body with green grapes , carrot feet, raisin mouth, and ham antennae.  He is walking on an oatmeal ground and taking in the cheddar cheese sun! 

(linked HERE) 

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David and Goliath

July 1, 2012 By

David and Goliath:  their bodies are made of celery.  David’s sling is made of ham with a grape half for a stone.  Their heads are made of Ritz crackers, raisin eyes, and carrots for mouths.  The Sun is made of a banana, and Goliath’s sword is made of a carrot.
Read the story of David and Goliath together (1 Samuel 17).  I love this Bible for preschool aged kids.
Create this lunch, and talk about how David must have felt going up against the giant.  
Thank God for saving His people, the Israelites, through such a miraculous victory.  Enjoy!

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