These yummy fruit “skabobs” as Cashel calls them were so fun to make. Cashel did some of the watermelon punch outs using the mini pastry cookie cutters by Pampered Chef (they are truly the best size) and then did a fabulous job of skewering them onto the sticks. We talked lots during the process, he loves to create and especially do things with food, so this filled his love tank. We also talked about how the fruit was in a pattern. Fun teachable moment there. I just cut the stem out of each strawberry and was conscious to make it look like the top of the heart. On the larger strawberries I also cut them in half to create two hearts, smaller ones I left whole. On a a few of the strawberries that had wider bases I did shave some off to make the heart come to a nice point. This part of the process really wasn’t hard, just had to leave the time.
I about died when we went into the store and found the “Princess Fish Crackers” that were pink! My boys both love the color so when Camper, who happened to be with me on this particular shopping trip, requested the pink princess fishy crackers I was thrilled to oblige. Plus the smaller bags of pink princess fish crackers were cheaper by the pound then the large carton so I got enough to cover our two snack opportunities this week. The adorable free printable was found here, and if they had been Cashel’s actual valentine cards we would have added his name next to the heart. (There is a printable that allows you to type their name in using matching font at this link!) The creator of that printable also provided an alternative saying “Our School is cool because of you!”
Also if you wanted to just snag individually wrapped bags of fish crackers there is a photo of how those can look here.
Or this adorable option that says “I’m hooked on you!”
This variation we did with individual fish bowls and individually wrapped for Cashel’s preschool since he only needed to take 16 total.
However, for his AWANA Cubbies class there are many more in class with Cashel and Camper, and we don’t ever have an exact count. So I used a glass cookie jar that is shaped like a fish bowl and has a chalk boarded lid on it. That let me send a bunch of fishy crackers and little clear snack cups so the kids could each take a scoop. The lid read “You are FINtastic!” We also did shorter skewers (cut in half) and used bananas that I cut into hearts instead of strawberries, just due to time and quantity. Both were a big hit. You can see just how tickled my wild haired boy was to take them to school today.
PS as a teacher, who didn’t have children of her own, I totally judged the bedhead. I hate even admitting that now, but now as a Mom to me it’s a sign of a job well done, showing that my boy was bathed last night and went to bed with wet hair.
I don’t even try to tame it, much to my Mother’s dismay. (Insert giant grin here.)
Off he goes! This little school is a true gift from God and I will never stop saying how grateful I am for what they are teaching my boy and for the love of learning they are helping to grow inside of him. Creating these fun special snacks for Cashel and his classmates is so much fun for me and gets the whole family in the kitchen. Check out the fun snack we did back in October right before Halloween – Ghostly banana muffins, pumpkin shaped carrot slices and cheese leaves!
