Ants on a Log

Today a childhood memory popped into my head. I can't remember when or where I made these before or even who I did it with, but at some point when I was little I can recall constructing a healthy snack called "ants on a log." Who knows what made this craft come to mind, but I realized today that I had all the ingredients to make a similiar memory with Caleb. 

We usually wait until Hadley is sleeping for such artistic endeavors because of my need to control the mess for my own sanity. So, once she went down for her nap today, I told Caleb the three ingredients we would need for our snack and let him gather them while I cleaned the space we would use. With a small amount of help, he found the peanut butter, raisins, and celery, and then I cut the celery so that we were finally ready to assemble our snacks.

To begin, I demonstrated how to put the peanut butter into the groove of the celery, and then he helped me put the raisins (oops I mean ants) along the "log." Next I turned the reigns over to him. The perfectionist side of him was a bit discouraged because he couldn't get the peanut butter to spread exactly as it should, but I kept encouraging him to continue trying to do it himself while giving him tips for what method to use and modeling occasionally. Though it wasn't my direct intention, I was glad it gave him the opportunity to practice some fine motor skills in a fun way. Overall, I thought he did a really good job for his first try at something like this.

His favorite step was probably the final one though. Lining up all the ants on the log was exactly the type of task this organized little person was suited for.

 

We may need to buy an apron or smock for such activities! Half way in his shirt was smeared with peanut butter and he had to be completely changed by the time we were through.

There was a bit of finger lickin' going on during the process - one of the reasons it is wise not to eat edible crafts made by a three-year-old.

Here are a few pictures of the final products:

The one in the very center towards the bottom of the photo was the one I tried to let him do solo.

Can you tell which one was my model vs. his creations?

So proud of his "ants on a log"

The eating part was pretty exciting too! Though he was very adamant on Monday that he didn't like celery when we had it with our roast, today he had no problem eating "ants on a log."

When Dave came home this afternoon, he showed him a few of the logs he'd saved for later and then repeatedly went through the steps of how he made them so that his daddy understood the process clearly. He even asked Dave to make some more with him which hopefully they'll find time to do soon.

I guess it's time to see what other fun healthy snack crafts I can find. Thank goodness for Pintrest at times like these!