Shapes Lunch

Lunch and snack time are an important part of the day which can be used for purposes beyond simply providing sustinance for our children.  Why not use this time as an opportunity to teach your child new things?  At Creative Kid Snacks, we are about leveraging meal time to connect with our kids on a deeper level, while serving super healthy food in a fun and engaging way.

Today’s snack can be used to help your child learn to form shapes.  This skill goes beyond simple recognition, (which would be great for a younger child), and extends into the area of fine motor skills.  Read on to see how to do it!

Step 1:  Create the “examples”

On a plate, form each shape as shown using the following supplies:

Star:  1 baby carrot (sliced into thin strips)

Square:  string cheese sliced in half width-wise, then sliced into 4 flat sections of equal length

Triangle:  blueberries sliced in half so they lie flat on the plate

Oval: Avocado, 2 sliced sections

Heart: Red bell pepper, sliced horizontally accross from standing position.

Step 2:  Provide the kids’ materials

Collect the same ingredients sliced in the way described above and place all onto a plate.  Provide enough for each child to make one of each shape.

Step 3:  Model how each shape is formed, and allow the kids to try!

One shape at a time, show the child how to form the shape using the food.  (Example:  For the triangle, I said “Take one blueberry and lay it on your plate for the tip of the triangle.  Next, take two blueberries and make a row right underneath your first blueberry.  (showing them the second row of blueberries on the example plate), and so on).

Step 4:  Correct any mistakes and praise a job well done

The point of this is to learn the right way to form shapes.  Gently nudge your child along until they correctly make the shape.  If they make a mistake, place the food in the correct place on the plate, hand it back to the child, and have them place it there themselves.  Sometimes it takes patience, and there are some things a younger child might be able to do.  For example, the star was too difficult for my 3 year old to make, but my 5 year old got it with several corrective directions from me.  She was SO proud of herself when she got it!  We snapped a picture of her joy shown below.

Enjoy teaching the kids to form shapes using this delicious and healthy food.

Health Benefits of this snack:

Health benefits of red peppers

Health benefits of avocado

Health benefits of carrots

Health benefits of blueberries

Health benefits of cheese (particularly combining cheese with fruits and veggies as we did in this meal) 

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