Carve out some cheesy fun with this edible craft and sharpen your child’s skills in a delicious way. Simply use cheese sticks to create miniature pencils, complete with an edible eraser and pencil tip. This creative activity combines dexterity, hand-eye coordination, and imagination with healthy eating. Little hands will love shaping the cute mini “pencils.” Beyond just being a fun back-to-school snack, this activity supports important skills for growth and learning. The fine motor manipulation of forming the pencil shape helps strengthen the small muscles in the fingers and hands, which is crucial for developing nimble fingers needed for early writing. The process of imagining and building the pencil promotes thinking skills, like problem-solving, sequencing, and symbolic thinking. These are all building blocks for early reading and writing skills. Healthy bodies need protein, calcium, and other nutrients to fuel their busy brains, so the ingredients are a perfect combination. It’s a clever way to spark interest in writing and pencil grip – all while satisfying hunger with a nutritious snack. This activity is a clever way to make learning fun!
Ingredients:
– Mozzarella string cheese
– Cheddar cheese stick
– Beef stick
– Black olive
– Toothpicks/mini bamboo skewers
Instructions:
1. Slice the beef stick into smaller pieces to become the “eraser.”
2. Cut the cheddar cheese stick into shorter pieces.
3. Cut the mozzarella string cheese stick into shorter pieces and carve them into pencil tip shapes.
4. Cut several small pieces of black olive and shape them into tiny triangles, leaving them thick.
5. Thread each piece onto the toothpick in this order: beef stick, cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, and lastly, black olive.
