Hi friends!
You know that feeling when you get a whiff of a scent and immediately memories start stampeding through your mind? Well that happened to me today as I was sifting through some materials I used to use with my kids. I found some fun small bowls and trays (as I was a collector of all things tiny… being an infant teacher and all… :)) … and that inspired me to create an activity recipe!
This recipe is very easy, and an incredibly fun activity for you and your young toddler!
Let’s call it The Young Toddler PBJ!
Ingredients:
- 2 Pieces of Ezekiel Bread
- Blueberries
- Banana
- Nut Butter or Sunflower Seed Butter
- Jam
- Coconut
** You can cater the level of involvement based on your observations of your child**
Step 1: Set up your activity recipe at a level your child can reach. If you have a tiny table that they use, perfect! If not, using a coffee table, or even a large tray on the floor can work. You will want to set up your fruits and spreads in different bowls, along side the bread. (This helps them learn about “like things” and also can turn into a great language lesson!)
Step 2: Spread the nut butter and jam on one piece of bread. (We’ll be using the second piece in a bit) If you have an older toddler whose fine motor has refined a bit more, invite them to use a spreader to spread their nut butter and jam on the bread! (It would help them learn quicker if they watched you slowly model it first…)
Step 3: Using a pincer grasp, show your young toddler how to transfer the fruits onto the jam and nut butter. After modeling a couple transfers, have them do the rest! Watch how excited they get when they are doing what you are!
Step 4: Once you have added everything you want to the piece of bread, place the 2nd dry bread directly on top. Now show your young toddler how to lightly press on the top piece of bread. You can say things like “Now we are going to press press press! See! By putting and pressing the two pieces of bread together we make a sandwich!” Lightly pressing the two pieces of bread will smash the fruits and help hold the sandwich together! Plus the kids will love getting to press!
Step 5: Then use the spreader to cut the sandwich into either strips or halves, depending on what you think is best for your child, and dig in! You may even want to share it, as you created it together! They’ll love getting to eat their activity recipe with you!
Enjoy dear friends!! Have fun with this activity recipe!
Xoxo,
Bianca, Your Baby Tour Guide