Child Care

5 WAYS TO MAKE ANY SNACK MORE FUN

After days and days of the same snacks, your students may become less interested in what you serve them.  There are only so many snacks which are easy to prepare, nutritious, and cost effective.  With a little imagination on your part, you can take these same snacks and make them more appealing and interesting.

1.  Color the snack

• Many snacks can be colored with just a drop or two of food coloring.  Your class will love drinking green milk on St. Patrick's Day or eating blue pudding when you are studying the ocean.

2.  Let your class help make the snack

• The age of your students will determine how much of the snack they will be able to prepare by themselves.  Something as small as letting the children serve themselves the snack may be enough to get them more excited about what they will be eating.  Depending on the snack, your students may be able to mix or assemble the snack.

3.  Shape the snack

• Many snacks such as marshmallow squares, cheese, gelatin, and breads can be easily shaped with a cookie cutter.  Many store bought snacks such as crackers, cookies, and fruit snacks will already be shaped so they are more kid-friendly. 

4.  Educate your students about the snack

• If the snack is related to the theme, you can talk about this with your class.  Your class may have a lot more fun eating bananas during a week they are studying the jungle than any other week.  You can also talk about how a snack is made/grown, its nutritional value,  or how it was prepared.

5.  Name the snack

• Giving a snack a fun name that allows your students to use their imagination will make it more appealing.