Don't play with your food...ok maybe just for lunch

I was honored to be a guest speaker to the IB (International Baccalaureate) Kindergarten classes at a local elementary school today. My son doesn't go there, but one of our friends does. When the topic of "How do you express yourself" came up she thought of me and set it up. I wish I had pictures or video to share but my hands were full and time moved so fast. Each session had 2 classes so space was limited. I was also working off the video cart so everyone could see on the projection screen, so I had to work fast in a cramped space. We talked about expressing their creativity through food. I showed them 30 lunches from this blog and they had a blast shouting out the characters. We then handed out paper and cookie cutters and they traced them with markers inventing their own imaginary sandwich ideas. They were to create something more than just the shape they were given, give it a life of its own. Then we talked about all the different foods that keep us healthy and how changing the way we look at them helps us want to try them. They were excited about veggies, fruits, and yes even the same old sandwich. I took a request from each class and made a demo the first group picked Spongebob, the second group picked Patrick...naturally. Even though I didn't finish all the little details I put in our lunches they were in love with it. We covered food safety and only using edible markers and food coloring with clean brushes and parental supervision. Since lunch was right after the presentation they were dying to eat the demos but we didn't want to spoil their appetites for their lunches. My monkeys were delighted to eat them after school as snacks and gobbled them up before I could get to the camera. There's been a lot of drama in the mom competition game lately and when you strip that garbage away, and see shouting kids excited over a lunch, that's the reason for all of this. Making healthy choices, and expressing themselves and bonding with mommy over the creative process is priceless. No matter what special thing you do with your kids, you're a rockstar. We all are, every day, any activity we do together with them, it all counts.

Hangman

Green Monkey is all about hangman lately so that's what he requested this morning instead of the leftover taco he had planned the night before. He picked the word and while I packed it solved you can bet those letters were scattered by lunch and he had to remember what word he picked and how to spell it. For the hangman he insisted it be a cowboy, because its always a cowboy.

In this lunch :

• Peanutbutter and jelly game board
• Provolone cheese cowboy hangman pieces
• Alphabet pretzels, and yes I do know that's a sideways "N" but the bag was out of "Z's"
• Watermelon butterflies
• Green Peep

Up Up and Away 

 In this lunch : 

• Peanutbutter and jelly airplanes
• Pirates booty clouds
• Butterfly watermelon
• Graham crackers with fluff and nutella "Smores"

 What special things do you do with or for your kids that others think is a bit "over the top"?