Light and Heavy Snacks- Submitted by Sherry

At snacktime, serve foods that are lightweight, such as puffed cereal or chips, and foods that are heavier, such as apple wedges or broccoli florets. Ask your children to speculate about which might be good for an outdoor picnic on a windy day and which might not.

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Puddle Cake- Submitted by Becce

April showers bring May flowers -- and lots of puddles! How are puddles formed? Help your child find out by baking a puddle into a cake.

flour, cocoa, salt, brown sugar, baking soda, oil, vanilla, vinegar, greased and floured baking pan, sifter, oven (preheat to 350 degrees)

Talk with your child about what happens outside when it rains. Tell your child that you would like him to help you make a special kind of cake -- a puddle cake -- and ask him to think about why the cake might have this name.

Help your child measure and sift the following dry ingredients into the baking pan: 1 1/2 cups flour, 3 tbs. cocoa, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 cup brown sugar, and 1 tsp. baking soda. Make a well in the centre. Together, measure and pour the following wet ingredients into the well: 6 tbs. oil, 1 tsp. vanilla, and 1 tbs. vinegar.

Talk about why and how this makes a puddle. Invite your child to dip his finger into the puddle to check how deep it is. Then let him pour 1 cup water into the well to make an even bigger puddle. Help him stir everything together. Bake the cake for 15-20 minutes.

As the puddle cake bakes, experiment with other ways to make puddles. Pour water onto a flat surface, into an egg carton, or into different-sized bowls. Discuss how these puddles are similar and different. Then enjoy your tasty snack!

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Rainbow Veggie Snacks- Submitted by Sherry

Set out rainbow-colored veggies, such as red tomatoes, orange carrot sticks, yellow and green bell pepper strips, and purple cabbage leaves. Serve with blue corn chips and a dip.

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Yogurt Popsicles- Submitted by Sherry

1 carton vanilla yogurt, 1 can (6 ounce) concentrated fruit juice (unsweetened (orange works well), dash of vanilla and/or honey (*do not use honey if giving to children under 1 year)

Mix well and freeze in molds (3oz paper cups can be used). For handles, insert wooden sticks of spoons when mixture is partially frozen. For single servings mix some plain yogurt with pureed canned or ripe fruit, or a spoonful of jam or jelly, in a small paper cup.

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Chocolate Garden -Submitted by Patrisha

Instant chocolate pudding - "Mud", Broken and crunched Oreo cookies - "Dirt", M&Ms or Skittles - "Seeds"

Prepare instant pudding according to package directions and put in bottom of bowl. Top with "dirt" and then plant your "seed". Eat!

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Flower Pot Snack- Submitted by Lisa in VA

1/2 cup butter, softened, 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese- softened, 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, 2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix, 3 1/2 cups milk, 1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping- thawed, 32 ounces chocolate sandwich cookies with creme filling

Chop cookies very fine in food processor. The white cream will disappear. Mix butter, cream cheese, and sugar in bowl. In a large bowl mix milk, pudding and whipped topping together. Combine pudding mixture and cream mixture together. Layer in flower pot, starting with cookies then cream mixture. Repeat layers. Chill until ready to serve. Add artificial flower and trowl. Enjoy!

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Bird Nest- Submitted by Lisa in VA

1/2 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1/2 bag butterscotch chips (like choclate chips), chow mein noodles

Put butterscotch and choclate chips together in bowl. Melt until soft mix together. Put chow mein noodles in bowl and mix. Take out and put out to eat optional (push in center of bird nest with spoon) Part of option (add marshmellows to look like eggs)

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Pink Deviled Eggs- Submitted by Lisa in VA

4 eggs, 1 small can beets, 1 Tbs. mayonnaise, 1/2 tsp. prepared mustard

Hard-boil eggs. Cool and remove shells. Cut eggs in half lengthwise and scoop out yolks into a small bowl. Pour juice from can of beets into a cup. Soak each egg white half in the beet juice for 1 minute. (The egg whites will not taste like beets.) Remove and drain on a paper towel. Mix egg yolks with mayonnaise and mustard. Fill the pink egg while halves with the yellow deviled egg mixture. Makes 8 deviled eggs.

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Fun Sunflower Snacks- Submitted by Christi

Round sugar cookie, banana, sliced (in chips), peanut butter, raisins

Spread peanut butter on the cookie. Arrange the banana chips around the outer edge of the cookie as petals. Stick raisins in the peanut butter as sunflower seeds.

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A Flowery Snack- Submitted by Sherry

Soften a large package of cream cheese and 3/4 pound of shredded American cheese. Mix together. Let each child arrange five round shaped crackers on a paper plate. Then they can make a round cheese ball and put it in the center of the crackers. Cover with clear plastic wrap and chill. Have with lunch or as an afternoon snack.

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Leafy Foods- Submitted by Sherry

Let children see leafy foods such as spinach or several different types of lettuce. Ask them why they’re called leafy. Compare the leaves on each. Let them taste the different leaves. Ask them if they all taste the same or different.

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Fruit- Submitted by Sherry

Choose some springtime fruits such as cherries or apricots. Cut them up so that the children can see the pits. Explain that they are really seeds and that the fruit was a flower in bloom at one time.

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Sunflower Seeds- Submitted by Sherry

Let children eat sunflower seeds. If you give them the ones with shells, explain how to crack them. Or show them what the seeds look like with shells and serve a small portion of already prepared seeds. If possible, get a real sunflower to share with the children.

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Spring Vegetables- Submitted by Sherry

Show children some vegetable seeds or pictures of some seeds. Serve some of the vegetables from the seeds. Let the children guess which vegetables grow from which seed.

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Edible Gardeners- Submitted by Cheryl

Dirt Oreos or other chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed Chocolate pudding Milk for making the pudding, Cool Whip

The amounts needed depend on how much you want to make. Make the pudding as directed. Fold in Cool Whip to make a Mousse consistency. In a bowl, put a layer of crushed Oreos on the bottom. Add the pudding mix as the next layer. Put a layer of the crushed Oreos on top to make it look like dirt. Also add gummy worms and serve with a new gardeners shovel. Another idea is to serve this is a new children's play wheelbarrow.

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Edible Sand- Submitted by Cheryl

Use the recipe above but instead of chocolate pudding and chocolate sandwich cookies use vanilla pudding and vanilla or peanut butter sandwich cookies.

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Ducky Treats- Submitted by Cheryl

yellow cake mix, yellow food coloring, yellow frosting, coconut, few chocolate chips, few candy corns

Adult should prepare cupcakes for the duck's head using a yellow cake mix. For the duck's face, the children can hlp to add a few drops of yellow food coloring to coconut and set aside. Spread each cupcake with yellow frosting. Sprinkle with yellow coconut. Add two chocolate chips for eyes and a candy corn for the beak. Watch everyone go QUACKERS for their treat.

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Edible Dirt- Submitted by Cheryl

9 oz. Clear Plastic Cups, Softened Chocolate Ice Cream, Chocolate Cookie Crumbs, Gummy Worms

Fill the plastic cups about 3/4 of the way full with softened chocolate ice cream. Top with about 1/4 inch of chocolate cookie crumbs. Place gummy worms in the "dirt" and eat!

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Chick Cupcakes- Submitted by Sherry

Make cupcakes as usual, then frost with yellow tinted frosting. Add raisin eyes and a candy corn beak.

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Chick Peaches- Submitted by Sherry

Using whole half peaches, add raisin eyes, and voila!! Instant chick!!

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Stamped Easter Cookies- Submitted by Sherry

Using premade cookie dough, slice cookies, then allow children to stamp the cookie, using a cookie easter stamp. If desired use cookie glitter or paint them with food coloring.

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Easter Cheese Toast- Submitted by Sherry

Using easter cookie cutters, cut out desired shape from cheese. Place cheese on bread and toast.

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Bunny Biscuits- Submitted by Sherry

Use one biscuit to make the face, then slice another biscuit to form ears. Place raisins on for eyes, and red cinnamons on for nose. Bake as usual, then use brown frosting to form the whiskers.

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Bunny sandwiches- Submitted by Sherry

Make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, then simply cut with an easter cookie cutter.

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Peter Rabbit In the Garden- Submitted by Sherry

This is a cute recipe, but kids usually skip the lettuce!! Place lettuce on a plate, then take a pear half and place on lettuce. Slice another pear half to form two ears, place ears on top of pear half head. Add raisin eyes, shredded carrot whiskers, and a candy bowtie if desired.

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Chocolate Bunny- Submitted by Sherry

Precut a bunny shape, and allow children to fingerpaint with chocolate pudding. Sand art eggs- Precut/trace a large egg shape on tagboard. Then have children draw a design on egg with glue; using colored sand sprinkle like glitter over glue.

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Rainbow Ice Cream- Submitted by Becce

I actually found rainbow ice-cream (I think by Breyers) last night in the store. Putting it onto a sky blue plate with whipped cream this afternoon to kick off the theme at snack time. I think I will sprinkle a little sugar on top to simulate rain.

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Mud Pies- Submitted by Nan

1 large instant vanilla pudding prepared 1 large cool whip 8 oz cream cheese, softened oreos

Blend cool whip & cream cheese. Layer cookies/pudding/cream cheese. Be sure to start & END with cookies (dirt).

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Shredded Wheat Bird Nests- Submitted by Cheryl

Large shredded wheat biscuits, melted marshmallows and candy eggs

For each child crumble one large shredded wheat biscuit into a bowl. Add melted marshmallow. Help the child pile the mixture on top of a small paper plate. Let child shape into a nest and add the eggs (jelly beans or malted eggs).

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Caterpillar Cookies- Submitted by Cindy

Get a box of Duncan Hines® sugar cookie mix. Follow directions on the package for making drop cookies. Prepare the dough, and add yellow food coloring to the liquid ingredients. Using a permanent marker, personalize a section of aluminum foil for each child. To make the cookie, each child rolls 4 small balls of dough, arranges dough on his piece of foil, so that they touch. Press 2 miniature chocolate chips in the ball on one end so that they resemble eyes. Place child's foil on baking pan, and bake as directed. Makes about 15 cookies.

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Raindrop Cookies- Submitted by Cindy

These sweet raindrops are the perfect treat after singing "It's Raining." To make a class supply of raindrops, give each child a slice of refrigerated sugar-cookie dough. Invite each child to form his dough into a raindrop shape. Shower blue sprinkles on the raindrops, and then bake them according to the package directions. Mmmm, what a sweet raindrop!

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Graham Cracker Kite- Submitted by Sherry

Frost half of a graham cracker. One options is to use red string licorice and make a kite shape around the edges and middle of the cracker. Decorate your kite. Another option is to not use the licorice and use a decorating set and decorate it any way you like. You can put colored sugar, sprinkles, other fancy things you buy in the store, raisins, chocolate chips, etc. on your kite.

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Kite Toast- Submitted by Sherry

For each color, take 1 tablespoon milk (rice, soy, or cow's) and 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon sugar and mix it. This makes quite a few pieces of toast. If you want to make lots of colors to practice making colors or if if you have more children or students, you will need to make more.

Cut the bread to be a shape of a kite. Place some of the milk mixture in small jars, glasses, small margarine containers, or other containers. Paint the bread using different colors. Put the bread in the oven or a toaster oven. Take it out when it is lightly brown.

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