My preschoolers love crackers and all things snack related.  I was thrilled to have discovered Sara and her nifty blog, Splendidly Imperfect.  She has graciously agreed to guest post her alphabet cheese crackers for us!  Thanks Sara!  Go check out her blog today and leave a comment there if you like these yummy preservative-free healthy snacks!
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I happen to have a boy and a husband who both love to have snacky-chow around the house. I didn’t want to have them constantly eating sweets, which are my forte, …

My mother used to make these frozen pudding cups for us when my siblings and I were kids, calling it “poor man’s icecream”. We loved it and as the Texas heat is climbing in the tripple digits, I thought today would be a great time to pass on my mother’s tradition to my kids. These frozen pudding cups are so easy to make your preschooler can play cook/icecream maker.
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What you need to make Pudding Icecream:

Vanilla or chocolate pudding
Fruit (or oreo cookies)
Milk

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Make the pudding by the directions on the …

Do you have independent children?  So far, I have three of them!  This Popsicle recipe is perfect for them.  It was simple enough that with minimal supervision/intervention my four year old was able to give the directions (she loved that) to my three year old who mixed these yummy treats up!  We made a couple different batches.  The inspiration for these popsicles came from hearing about the dripless icecream that they make with jello, and after having to hose down a toddler covered in traditional popsicle goo… Why don’t we …

My daughter just turned four! Her birthday request was for rainbow cupcakes. I was imagining rainbow icing till she explained she wanted the entire cupcake to be a rainbow. How on earth would I make that?  Then I remembered the blog post I read from Shannon, at Milk and Cuddles, there was hope! We could make rainbow cupcakes after all! Thanks Shannon for some great instructions. We had a blast making our own colorful cupcakes. Check out our collection of kid-friendly snack recipes …

We had fun this past week learning map skills together.  I was amazed at how quickly my kids grasped the concept of a map.  I think this was the first time they had to work with one!  I drew a rough map of our living room/kitchen areas, together we filled our snack cups.

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Together we looked at the map and I explained how to figure out where we are on the map and where the “landmarks” were (our couch, the dollhouse, the ktichen table, etc.).  The kids then went to the …

I love feeding the kids a nutritious breakfast.  I also love teaching them independence and watching my preschoolers have a sense of accomplishment when they “make Daddy’s oatmeal”.  It’s precious!  Here are a few of the ways we have fun with our morning oatmeal.  Do you do anything to make breakfast more interesting?  I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
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The kids get to pick their own packet – Better Oats has quite the variety of flavors – and dump the oats and water into their own bowls.
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Sometimes, they …

I love going to the mall, detest shopping, but love the indoor playcenter which is great to help my preschoolers spend some pent up energy on a rainy day… and I love our tradition of getting a soft pretzel after our outing! We regularly bake bread at the Quirky home, but we made pretzels for the first time as a family. They were so good I think I ate four at one time! This recipe was adapted from All Recipes, and they are really, really good! …

Are you looking for a quick, interactive treat to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day or another celebration? Combine vanilla pudding with M&M candies for green goodness kids will gobble up happily. This is a fun way for a younger toddler or preschooler to learn about colors and color mixing. Thanks Julia for inspiring us to have fun during snack time this week!
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Supplies to learn about colors with Saint Patrick’s Day:

Vanilla or coconut pudding, plain yogurt, a milkshake, even applesauce.
M&M candies (we used blue, yellow, and green)
Small bowls
Spoons

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Before …

Super easy and Super fun! This is a really easy edible art project! Instead of boring plain old syrup on your pancakes, why not paint them! I was surprised by painting their pancakes the kids actually used less syrup than when they drizzled their pancakes or dipped bites in a syrup puddle.  This activity actually makes pancakes a more healthy alternative!  You can also use honey instead of syrup.  What you’ll need: Food Coloring, Syrup, Unused Paintbrushes, & Pancakes! We used an egg carton to …

I got this idea from chatting with Kellie, from Chicks With Kidz, she had a great idea/suggestion to include my kiddos in making our own variations of trail mix.  We eat granola regularly for breakfast, but I have always been the one mixing it up!  With her encouragement my one year old now has a way to “help mommy” cook breakfast!  Thanks Kellie!  We are always looking for ways to include our kids in household chores and activities!
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How to make your own Granola Mix:
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Grab handfuls of any or all of …