Turkey Treats

Mmmm...gobble, gobble! We've done a few turkey-themed treats this week. I like to find food and snack ideas that Brody can actually participate in making, so the first one involved placing Froot Loops on toothpicks that were sticking out of an apple to resemble the turkey's feathers. Not that he is at all lacking in the area of fine-motor development, but this was great practice. I think he is going to be a very hands-on learner.



The finished product! There are marshmallows at the top of each toothpick to prevent the cereal from falling off. The turkey's head is a grape, cheese for the beak, and mini pretzels for feet.


This picture is so funny because I didn't even tell him to pose like that...he just did it while I was trying to snap a picture of him with his turkey!


Time to eat! Of course the mar-mars went first :)


Time to nibble on the healthy part! The apple looked like it was polka-dotted after he was through with it.


This idea was from the Rice Krispies website. Very cute, but I was only able to get 3 turkeys out of one batch. I think if I were to do this in my classroom, I would use one big rice cake and one mini rice cake per student. Much easier, and probably healthier too. So here's our 3 turkeys named Brody, Emmy, and Jax!


Wouldn't these have been great with the special candy corn that comes in all kinds of neat colors? Maybe next year!


My attempt at making one of them look girlie!


And finally, there's a huge, gorgeous version of this next turkey on Family Fun's website. I decided to scale it down for a nice centerpiece/snack. Delicious!



I am a big fan of using snacks and food in my classroom to go along with just about any learning activity. I think that children remember these fun little "extras" the most, and it makes them excited to be at school. Before having my own children, I remember thinking how I could not wait to try some of those fun ideas (not just food ideas) with them! It's so great to watch Brody's expression when we do some of these things.

I have a lot of kitchen memories from when I was younger...making yummy goodness with my Grandma Appelhans, Grandma Hipp, and my mom. Even now, we try to get together one night during the holiday season to have a cookie-baking marathon at my mom's house. It's not really about the cookies though--it's the feeling of being together and making more memories that I love the most. I want Brody, Emersyn, and Jaxson to have the same warm memories when they get older!