Fairy snacks are fun and easy to make with fruit. We made fairy magic wands and fairy berry smoothies too. They are nutritious and yummy to eat.
Fairy fruit magic wands can use almost any fruit you have at home. After washing our hands so we couldn’t taste any fingers, Big Brother helped slice a banana while I topped some strawberries.
Together we made one magic wand with strawberry, banana, and pineapple chunks on a skewer. We put them on in a pattern: strawberry, pineapple, banana/strawberry, pineapple, banana. Then, Big Brother made his own. He chose to use only strawberries and bananas and, for the most part, put them on in a pattern too.
Patterning is an important thinking skill. It helps reduce the volume of information so, whenever possible, we play with pattern sequences. Kids need lots and lots of experiences to figure out how patterns work. After making the fairy fruit magic wands, we slid the fruit back off the skewers and ate them up.
Berry and fairy sound almost the same. To make the smoothies, we used raspberries and strawberries. Blackberries aren’t ready yet here but they would be good too. So would blueberries. After washing hands and fruit we added them to the blender with some yogurt and a bit of honey. Blend until smooth, pour into cups, and slurp with straws.
Cooking with kids encourages more skills than patterning and rhyming words. There’s following instructions, doing steps in order, basic science, special language, measuring, counting, comparing, and others. When children are involved with food preparation, they are more aware of what they are eating and more open to trying new foods. They develop a partnership with foods instead of only consuming them. Being part of the preparation and the clean-up also promotes a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment. We all enjoy being part of the group, kids included. They feel they are able to contribute to the family too.
These fairy snacks were easy and healthy. Magic wands weren’t needed for taste, but added to the fun. Any kitchen fairies at your house?
For more fairy fun, from snacks to science to stories to songs, visit the plays-of-the-day on 123kindergarten blog.