Healthy Snack For Preschoolers -- Or Growing Things and Eating Them Too

It's always a challenge to find healthy snacks for preschoolers.  So when you can incorporate making a healthy snack into your lesson plan it's a real bonus. This project from Taste and Tell does just that. 

To try planting this carrot patch you need: 

small terra cotta pots

hummus (you can sub whipped cream cheese mixed with ranch salad dressing dry mix instead, it's not as healthy but the kids might like it better)

baby carrots
curly parsley

small paper or plastic cups 3oz size

toothpicks

spoons

Directions:

Open hummus and spoon it into small cups that will fit inside your flower pots (acting as your 'dirt'.)

Spoon hummus into small cups that will fit inside the pots.

Use a toothpick to push a small hole in the larger end of the carrots and insert a small piece of parsley to represent carrot tops.  Use three or four carrots per pot. (Depending the the dexterity of your group, you may want to poke the hole during your prep time)
Children can then plant their carrots in their pots by pushing them down into the hummus.
 
An added bonuses? If you want to expand the lesson, plant some carrot seeds in the pots after the snack has been eaten and start your own class carrot garden or the kids can take home their pot and seed to plant at home.

Why do I love this lesson?  It starts with students making their own healthy snack and doesn't need any cooking, so it's great for classrooms without kitchens. Students then move onto planting the seeds to make their own carrot garden--a whole new lesson.  And they can feed what they grow to their classroom guinea pig or make a whole new snack from their garden.  It can lead to a lesson on food groups and nutrition or a discussion about growing your own food.  This is a lesson that keeps on giving!

Recipe originally from Family Fun.