Memorial Day Craft: Make Your Own (Edible) American Flag

May 26, 2013 By Amy Hudson

Memorial day is right around the corner. It’s a time to celebrate and remember those who gave their lives fighting for our country’s freedom. We are so fortunate to have all we do in this country, and taking a few minutes out to celebrate that is a good thing. Today we are celebrating our country with an edible craft: make your own American flag.

Make Your Own American Flag

First, gather the supplies (ingredients) necessary for the kids to use to build their flag.

Edible Craft: Make your own flag! CreativeKidSnacks.com

Ingredients:

* Whole Wheat tortilla (substitute baked crescent rolls or even a piece of toast)

* Cream Cheese Mixture (see below)

* Cut up strawberries and blueberries (watermelon or raspberries may be substituted for strawberries).

* String Cheese (sliced into strips lengthwise)

How to make your own flag:

Edible Craft: Make your own flag! CreativeKidSnacks.com

Slice whole wheat tortillas into a rectangle. The ones shown here are too large for a single serving for a child. Think about slicing it to the size of a piece of toast. (Remember, a piece of toast would also be an option if you don’t have tortillas).

Next, make the following cream cheese mixture (stolen from the classic “fruit pizza” recipe).

Cream Cheese Spread:

1/2 block cream cheese

1/4 cup sugar

1 t vanilla

Combine using a hand mixer until smooth and creamy.

Spread this mixture atop your tortillas.

Edible Craft: Make your own flag! CreativeKidSnacks.com

We pulled up a picture of the American flag and I asked the girls to describe it. What did they see? What were the patterns? How many stars did they guess were in the flag? Why?

Next, I asked them if they could create their own flag using the ingredients in front of them.

After about 5 minutes of work, this is what Grace did, (she is 5 years old):

Edible Craft: Make your own flag! CreativeKidSnacks.com

And, with a LOT of help from me, this was Emma’s (hey, I needed a nice picture to show you, right?)

Edible Craft: Make your own flag! CreativeKidSnacks.com

Once the flags were done, we pulled out our star sprinkles to complete the look:

Edible Craft: Make your own flag! CreativeKidSnacks.com

So Fun!

What are you doing for memorial day?

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out our other holiday inspired snacks.

(Sharing HERE)

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

Easter Snacks + Weekly Kids Co-op

February 28, 2013 By Amy Hudson

Easter Snacks to make with the kids from creativekidsnacks.com

Easter is coming! Easter has always been one of my favorite holidays to celebrate. How about some cute snacks for this special season?

Bunny

I don’t think this bunny has ever been posted on Creative Kid Snacks, we made it over a year ago. This little guy has bananas for ears, a cottage cheese face, hard boiled egg slices for eyes, an almond nose, cheese whiskers, and raisin eyes. Cute and filling for the kiddos!

Lamb snack for Easter - part of a collection of cute Easter food from creativekidsnacks.com

This little lamb is a perfect spring time, Eater-y alternative to the bunny. It’s a fresh and fun lunch. Check out how to make it here.

Jesus on cross: part of a collection of Easter snacks from creativekidsnacks.com

My daughter actually requested to have make a Jesus on the Cross plate on Good Friday. Although it may sound strange, it was a great way to remember and celebrate what Jesus has done for us. It was her way of honoring that special day, and, just like a pendant on a necklace or an illustration in the kids Bible, this is one more way this event is portrayed. See our post about it here.

This chick is another one that has not been posted on CKS. We made our chick out of cheesy pasta, added carrot feet and a beak, a raisin eye, and some fresh celery for grass. Easy, adorable, and delicious!

Teach the story of Jesus' resurrection and the true meaning of Easter with this snack by creativekidsnacks.com

Tell the true story of the meaning of Easter with this snack – the Empty Tomb. Check out our post about it here.

How to make "resurrection eggs" to tell the Easter story as you color eggs this year.

I highly recommend making these four special eggs this year as you color your eggs. You can tell the whole story of Easter, and each egg has its own directions and explanation. Check out all the directions here.

(Sharing HERE)

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

And now it’s time for the Weekly Kids Co-op!

As moms, we are constantly on the lookout for great teaching tools and resources to use with our children. I know I always benefit from seeing the creativity of others as they share lessons, activities, crafts, food, and more in their various blogs. Mommy bloggers have become popular for a good reason: information is power. Right, ladies?

The Weekly Kids Co-op is one of my very favorite such resources. I have been linking my snacks to this link party for months now, and I am excited to be able to co-host it here at Creative Kid Snacks.

If you are a blogger, link up your kid related posts to share with all of us eager beaver mommas. If you are a mom, take some time to look through all of the great ideas for teaching and playing with our kids. Pin what you love. Like I said before, information is power!

This party will take place every Thursday at Creative Kid Snacks. You will find it hosted on several other blogs, but the days the party goes live will vary from blog to blog.

Get ready for all the great ideas! Link, share, and enjoy!

Resurrection Eggs

February 27, 2013 By Amy Hudson

The following post is something originally seen on my other blog, Sugar and Spice. I started it in 2011 and it is where I first blogged about the creative snacks I had started making for my daughter. Those snacks became so popular that they morphed into their own blog, which is Creative Kid Snacks.

I decided to post this entry here today because Easter is coming up, and this idea is a great way to use Easter egg coloring to teach the real Easter story to your kids. I hope you enjoy!

Are you looking for a way to include the real story of Easter in your egg-coloring this year?

I would highly recommend making Resurrection Eggs! I had the idea last year to make them and they worked so well as a teaching tool and as a way to incorporate the real Easter story, that they are now a mainstay of our Easter festivities.

To make them you will need:

1) Regular egg-dying supplies (i.e. a kit from the grocery store)

2) Colorful tissue paper (available at the Dollar Store)

3) Glue – any kind

That’s it!

You will make 4 eggs. As shown in the picture above (from left to right), you will make (1) a passover egg, (2) a cross egg, (3) a tomb with the stone rolling away egg, and (4) a heaven egg.

Process:

1) Dye your eggs first and let them dry. Choose colors against which the tissue paper you are using will pop. This coming year I will change the first egg’s backdrop color to a pale orange, I think.

2) Cut out your tissue paper to make the shapes shown above.

- Passover egg will be a red goblet and a yellow loaf of bread.

- Cross will be a red cross shape to also represent that Jesus bled while on the cross as our sacrifice

- The tomb will be a wide square with an archway cut out of the middle. You will also need a large circle for a boulder.

- Heaven will be a long blue cloud with yellow beams coming out.

3) Glue tissue paper onto eggs as shown and let dry.

Explanation for each egg:

Passover Egg: Jesus had a final meal with his disciples called a Passover meal. He explained to his disciples God’s plan to save the world from their sins through Jesus. Jesus was going to have to die on a cross. Jesus told the disciples to eat the bread and remember his body that would be broken for them and drink from the cup and remember the blood that he would shed on the cross.

Cross Egg: Jesus was crucified on a cross. The cross is red to show that Jesus bled and died on the cross. When Jesus died on the cross, he paid the price for our sins by dying in our place. Jesus never sinned. He was perfect and took the punishment for all of our sins upon himself so that we could be forgiven.

Tomb Egg: Jesus’ body was placed in a tomb and it stayed there for 3 days. On the third day, Jesus rose from the dead! The stone was rolled away by angels, and when the women came looking for Jesus, the angel said, “He is not here; He has risen!”. When Jesus rose from the dead it showed that he was who he said he was because he conquered death and that he had the power to forgive us from our sins.

Heaven Egg: Because of the Easter story, we will be with God in heaven when we die. Heaven will be a beautiful place filled with joy because we will be with God and see all of his glory!

(You can use your own words, of course, but that is roughly how we explained it last year).

How to involve the kiddos:

1) Ask your child to hand you each shape as you are ready to glue it on. As you glue it on, explain its meaning. Repeat this with all 4 eggs.

2) Go over the story again once the eggs are lined up. Take out your children’s bible (here’s ours), and read the Easter story. Have the kids point to the eggs being talked about.

3) Before Easter, have your kids tell a friend or relative about the resurrection eggs they made and each of their meanings.

4) On Easter morning, hide the eggs around the house, and have the kids find them and bring them back together before breakfast is served and Easter baskets are invaded.

5) Pray together as a family and thank God for each aspect of the Easter story.

6) Ask your child which egg is their favorite and why.

7) If your child is into hard boiled eggs, allow them to eat that one on Sunday morning as part of breakfast.

Surely you will come up with even more of your own great ideas for the Resurrection Eggs. I’d love to hear what you do with them if you try them!

Happy (early) Easter to you!

(Sharing HERE)

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

Easter Morning

February 25, 2013 By Amy Hudson

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is, in my eyes, one of the singe most important events of all time. On Easter, we celebrate the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, conquering sin and death, and paving the way for all who believe in him to have forgiveness and everlasting life.

After Jesus’ death, his body was placed in a garden tomb by a couple of his disciples. Three days later, Mary Magdelene went to the tomb to anoint the body with spices and oil, and saw the stone rolled away from the tomb entrance. As they entered the tomb, they saw an angel who said to them, “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. ⁷But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” (Mark 16:6 NIV).

Resurrection day proved that Jesus was who he said he was. The son of the most high God, able to defeat even death, so that we who believe may live! Amen!

This Easter snack will help you to teach the story of Jesus’ resurrection to your children. Read the story from Mark 16 or John 20, (or read it from the Children’s Bible – here’s the one we use), and then make this snack together.

Teach the story of Jesus' resurrection and the true meaning of Easter with this snack by creativekidsnacks.com
To make this snack, start with the tomb. Slice an apple near the core on one side so you have a nice large chunk of apple. Then slice that in half so that there is one round “stone” piece and another that looks like an empty tomb. Easy! Next, thinly slice a baby carrot and place the strips around the tomb to look like beams of light. Add some celery grass underneath the tomb. (After all, the tomb was in a garden)!

Next, slice a hard boiled egg in half to use as the angel’s body. Carefully pop out the yolk of one of the halves and place it on top as the angel’s head. Slice two small traingles off of the half of boiled egg you didn’t use for the body, and place those next to the body as arms (well, sleeves). Add some pretzels as wings, and use a small almond for his smile and tiny brown sprinkles for his two eyes. I normally use raisins for eyes, but this guy’s face was too small for that!

You now have a delicious, nutritious, and educational bible story for lunch. Enjoy!

Teach the story of Jesus' resurrection and the true meaning of Easter with this snack by creativekidsnacks.com

If you enjoyed this Easter snack, check out our other biblical snacks like Jesus’ birth, Jesus on the cross, Jonah in the big fish, and more.

Creative Valentine’s Day Snacks for Kids

February 13, 2013 By Amy Hudson

Valentine’s Day can be such a fun day for the kids. Why not make it even more special by showing your love to them with a creative snack or meal? Following is some of my favorite Valentine’s Day food that you can serve all day.

Screen shot 2013-02-13 at 10.18.46 AM

Breakfast

Heart Warming Oatmeal

This is a fun and tasty way to start off the day. Ever since I made this the first time, it has become a staple in our house! Click here to see how we made it.

Valentine’s Day Pancakes

If your child is a pancake lover, then give them a memorable pancake breakfast using heart shaped cookie cutters to make everyone in your family. See how this breakfast was made here.

Lunch

The Giving Tree

Valentine’s Day is the perfect day to talk about real love and the ways people show it to one another. Read The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein and make this adorable lunch to go with it. See how we made it along with some questions to get your kids talking about love here.

I Love You to the Moon and Back

Here is another book-inspired lunch. Check out our post about the message of the story and how to make the snack that goes with it here.

Snacks

I Love You

Although I’m categorizing it as a snack, this dish is filling enough to be a lunch for some kids. With refreshing strawberries, grapes, celery, and calcium rich cheese and yogurt, this dish says I love you in more than one way. See how to make it here.

Valentine’s Day Apples

A super fun snack the kids will go nuts over is this simple apple snack. Use a cookie cutter to slice apples into heart shapes, add some peanut butter and some crunchy cereal – and the kids won’t be able to contain their love for you! See all the details about this snack here.

We hope you have a great Valentine’s Day!

The Giving Tree

February 8, 2013 By Amy Hudson

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein is one of the most poingant books about the nature of sacrificial love that exist for children. In light of Valentines Day, I thought a lunch inspired by The Giving Tree was in order.

Giving Tree 1

Creating The Giving Tree lunch

Ingredients used:

Frozen or canned peas – about 6 oz

2 oz meat (pulled pork, rotisserie chicken, lunch meat, etc)

1 strawberry

1 slice of white cheese

1 pretzel

Thaw some frozen peas or use some canned peas and heat in a small glass bowl in the microwave. Next, take some meat – I used leftover pulled pork, which was beautiful for texture, but you could use lunch meat, rotisserie chicken, or even sandwich bread – and form the trunk. Before placing the peas on the plate, heat the meat in the microwave, about 30 seconds. Remove the plate, add the peas to the top, and you have a beautiful tree that looks like the Giving Tree from the story.

Next, create the little boy. I sliced a strawberry in half and sliced into it to create the shoulder straps and shorts. Next, I took a slice of mozzarella cheese and made his hands, legs, and head. I added a tiny currant (small raisin) for his eye, and made his hair out of several pretzel bits.

givngtree 2

Talking about LOVE using The Giving Tree Story

The Giving Tree has lots of implications about what it means to love. It is quite interesting to find out whether your child picks up on these themes as you read the story. Following are some before, during, and after reading ideas.

Before reading:

Ask your child ways people can show others that they love them. (They might give you ideas like hug, give a gift, say “I love you”, etc.)

Ask your child how they know that you love them. What makes them feel loved? (This will indicate your child’s “love language”)

During Reading:

After reading the lines, “and the tree was happy”, ask your child why the tree was happy.

After reading the lines, “and the tree was happy. But not really”, as your child why the tree wasn’t really happy.

After reading:

Discuss which character in the story showed love better. Why?

Talk about how you love your child no matter what happens.

Ask how the boy could have shown love to the tree.

Think of ways your child can show love to others today.

Giving Tree 1

Have a wonderful Valentines Day. If you need some other ideas for this special day, check out our “Heart Warming” Oatmeal, Valentines Day Pancakes, Guess How Much I Love You?, Valentines Day Apples, and I Love You yogurt snack.

(Sharing at Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons and Sun Scholars)

Valentines Day Pancakes

February 3, 2013 By Amy Hudson

Valentines Day is almost here! How about a sweet little breakfast for your Valentine? Make these easy Valentines Day Pancakes!

valentines day pancakes 2

To create this little plate, simply prepare two medium or one large pancake on your skillet. Next, take your heart shaped cookie cutter and cut out as many little hearts as desired.

Next, give the hearts a little personality, which is what we do on Creative Kid Snacks! I used chocolate chips for their eyes, and a small slice of a strawberry for their mouths. How sweet!

As a finishing touch, I added little whipped cream polka dots around the plate for a little something special for my little Valentines.

Valentines day pancakes 1

Enjoy! (Sharing HERE)

Check out our other Valentines Day Food.

Guess How Much I Love You? Snack

Valentines Day Apples

I love you yogurt breakfast

Valentines Day Apples

January 23, 2013 By Amy Hudson

Valentines Day is coming up! Last year I showed you a cute way to make use of your heart shaped cookie cutter in this Valentines Day Snack. This year, I have more cute little treats coming up for you soon, but first I’d like to show you a healthy Valentines Day snack.

Apples are perfect for cutting into hearts with the cookie cutter!

Slice an apple so that you have a surface area large enough for your cookie cutter to go through.

Next, spread some peanut butter and sprinkle some Rice Krispies over each slice. The cereal adds a little crunch.

You can serve them open faced like this, or you can put them together for a Valentines Day apple sandwich!

Stay tuned for several more Valentines Day treats to make for your little ones this year!

(Sharing HERE)

Snowman Milk Chugs

December 26, 2012 By Amy Hudson

Need a great kids drink for a Winter Party? While the adults sip their spiced eggnog, serve the kids milk in the form of little snowmen!

Perhaps you’re hosting winter play date and looking for something to serve.

Making them is so simple, and the kids will love to drink them as they decorate cookies or snack on some healthy play date snacks.

The best part is, the kids can help you get them ready to serve to their friends!

We bought two different kinds of milk drinks. The lucerne brand were 4 for $5, which was a great price, and the Deans were a little closer to $2 each. I decided to try both in order to see which shape came out cuter.

We used some pipe cleaners and a black, brown, and orange sharpie in order to create our snowmen. How much simpler can you get when it comes to supplies?

Next, remove the wrappers. I’m very partial to my cute little assistant!

Take two pipe cleaners of matching color and wrap around the bottle two thirds of the way up. This will create your snowman’s scarf. My four year old girl did a great job of choosing a color for each snowman and wrapping each one.

Take your sharpie and draw your faces using black for the eyes, smile, and buttons; orange for the nose; and brown for their stick arms.

As you can see, the two different bottles both come out cute, so you can use either brand depending on your preference.

I actually liked the bigger bottles better, since the “scarf” stayed in place better. There is a groove in the bottle at just the right spot!

Hope you enjoy the Snowman Milk Chugs!

(Linking up HERE)

Jingle Bells

December 21, 2012 By Amy Hudson

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way!

It’s almost Christmas!

If you have older kids who will be home from school for winter break, and you are new to the creative lunches thing, here is a perfect one to make for them!

For this lunch, we will re-purpose those cookie cutters we’ve undoubtedly been using to make our cookies this season.

My cookie cutters are a little on the thin side, so I used them for one slice at a time.

Using whole wheat bread, we pressed the cookie cutter into each piece, then added our turkey and cheese. That’s it!

Little Emma (age 2) loved pressing the cookie cutter into each piece of bread to help me!

Finally, we placed some holly around the top of the plate to make it look even more festive.

To make the bow, slice a strawberry in half so you have two triangles for the loops. Slice the remaining portion into two thin rectangles for the ties, and add one last bit in the center to complete the bow.

Sweet, easy, healthy, and merry!

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Memorial Day Craft: Make Your Own (Edible) American Flag

Make Your Own American Flag

Ingredients:

How to make your own flag:

Cream Cheese Spread:

Easter Snacks + Weekly Kids Co-op

And now it’s time for the Weekly Kids Co-op!