If you have kids at home right now, they are probably constantly looking for something to do and something to eat. These quick and inexpensive ideas will solve both problems – for a while at least. These three are all easily kid-made summer snacks to eat up time and yummies while making memories with your littles.
1. Marshmallow Mini Pit
Did you know marshmallows are a fat-free sweet? Yep! And who doesn’t love roasting marshmallows? This mini marshmallow pit is also an excellent opportunity to teach fire basics and fire safety.
First, I got my kids plain terracotta pots from the store for $1. I let them paint them for fun. The pots ended up lying around with nothing successfully growing in them, so I repurposed them with an idea I saw on Pinterest.
Line the insides of the pots with tin foil – that’s important – then drop in a couple of pieces of charcoal. I used instant light and added a few pieces of paper. They lit easily with a lighter and kept the fire small and manageable (the pots do get very hot)! Then, let your kids roast some marshmallows over the fire.
Our little fire pit roasted the marshmallows perfectly. It was even better than a large fire, and the kids loved it. The fire and smoke should keep away the bugs a bit too. If you can’t find sticks, real wooden chopsticks or meat skewers will work.
2. Emergen-C Jello
For this, simply take your choice of Emergen-C flavor and mix with a similarly flavored Jello packet. This is easy for the kids to do themselves!
Have them pour in one cup of hot water (use an electric kettle) and one cup of cold water and stir very, very well. Then, place it in the fridge to set.
This treat will help teach your kids patience as they have to learn to wait for the Jello to be ready. Plus, there is hidden extra vitamin C in this cool treat.
3. Popsicles
When I was a kid, we used apple juice to make Popsicles by pouring no sugar added pure apple juice (or any other) into a Popsicle a mold you can get from just about anywhere, like IKEA for just $2.
But, you can also stick a Popsicle stick inside a yogurt cup lid and freeze it to create a yogurt pop. Or, you can blend watermelon and freeze it in Popsicle sets.
Another option is to cut a peeled banana into two shorter bananas, roll or dip in yogurt, roll or sprinkle topping of your choice, and freeze on tin foil for banana pops.
Looking for more cooking with kids ideas? Check some more out here. Or, if you’re nervous about having little ones involved, read this first.
