What you need:
- Paper and pencil
- Picnic basket
- Blanket
- Paper plates
- Napkins
- Cups
- Camera
- Homemade sandwiches
What to do:
- Invite your child to help check off a list of the foods and supplies that you will bring on your outing.
- Ask your child to help you write a list of picnic items. (He can cut and paste words and pictures from a grocery-store circular or try writing the words.) Take the list with you to the store so you and he can "read" it as you go through the aisles together.
- Create the eats together! These recipes keep the preparation simple so that your child can easily participate.
- Provide several different choices of containers to carry the picnic supplies. Ask your child to predict which container will hold everything you plan to bring, and then try it out!
- Encourage your child to make predictions about the picnic before you go. What do you think we will see at the picnic area? What might be the best part of the picnic? Write down his predictions and review them later to see which were true to your experience.
- Whether you go out to the backyard or take a trip to a park, carry along a camera to record the fun and discoveries of the day! Your child can then write about the event and create his own "My Picnic Adventure" book.
Learning benefits:
- Develops prediction skills
- Provides practice with early literacy
- Supports early math skills
Recipes
Silly Sandwiches
- What you need: Bananas, crackers, peanut butter, cream cheese, jam, raisins, sandwich meats, and cheese
- How to make it: Use slices of banana instead of bread! Ask your child to peel and slice the bananas (with a plastic knife). Spread the slices with peanut butter and dot with raisins. You could also use crackers to stack with jam, cream cheese, or mini slices of turkey and cheese.
Pinwheel Wraps
- What you need: flour tortillas, leafy lettuce, sliced turkey, cheese, shredded carrots, condiments, or cranberry sauce
- How to make it: Lay out the tortilla. Invite your child to spread it with mustard, mayonnaise, or cranberry sauce. Top with slices of turkey, cheese, carrots, and/or lettuce. Roll it up and hold it together with a toothpick.
Salad Bowls
- What you need: hard rolls, pre-made chicken salad, egg salad, or tuna salad
- How to make it: Cut off the top of a hard roll and show your child how to remove the fluffy inside of the fat side to make a bowl. Invite him to fill the bowl with his salad and top with the other piece of the roll.
