Ants on a log is a classic child's snack that is inexpensive and easy to make. Educators can incorporate this cooking lesson into a unit about bugs or plants. Teach kids about how celery is grown and what it looks like. Show children a stalk of celery with the leaves, before pulling them off. Cut up as much as celery stalks as needed into 3-to-4 inch pieces, according to the Kids Cooking Activities website. Give two pieces to each child. Kids also need a bowl of peanut butter, a spoon and a small box of raisins. Show children how to spread the peanut butter into the concave section of the celery. Place raisins in a line, sticking them into the peanut butter. Children enjoy decorating the celery creatively, while recognizing its appearance as being similar to ants crawling up a log. Let children play with their ants before eating their food creations.
This cooking activity can be included into a unit involving ocean life and sea creatures. Children need adult supervision since this activity does involve using a stove and boiling water. Explain to students that they are mad scientists and are making their very own octopuses. Students need wieners, macaroni and cheese, milk, a pot, a mixing bowl and boiling water, according to the Creative Kids Crafts website. Delegate duties to each student so that everyone is participating. Prepare the macaroni and cheese by following the directions on the box. Cut each wiener into quarters, lengthwise. These will be the long skinny legs of the octopus. Drop the legs into the boiling water, allowing children to watch as they shrivel up. Serve a bowl of macaroni and cheese with the legs arranged in an octopus shape. Add cherry tomatoes for the eyes. Children can count the legs to ensure there are eight, practicing their counting skills.
Apple smiles are an interesting way to teach children about emotions and appropriate behavior. Explain to the children that they are going to make apple smiles to show how happy they are when cooking. Teachers need to cut red apples into slices prior to the lesson, according to the Kids Cooking Activities website. The slices are the lips. Make sure that the red skin of the apple is facing up. Give each child a bowl of peanut butter, a spoon, eight apple slices and mini marshmallows. Show the kids how to spread the peanut butter onto two slices of apple. Place the two slices together so that there is a thick smudge of peanut butter between the slices. Place mini marshmallows on top of the peanut butter and between the two lips of apple. The marshmallows make the teeth of the smile. Have students make a few more apple smiles to practice their fine motor skills. Kids can play with their smiles before eating them.