Putting The Pretty In Preschool

Finding Beauty In Everyday Early Childhood Experiences

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Easter Peeps Houses

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Make two different Easter peeps houses with graham crackers and chick and bunny peeps. Create one with your little learner today!

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These cute Easter peeps houses take gingerbread house-making into the Easter season. And the chick peep coop and bunny peep hutch are easy-peasy to make together with little learners.

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Follow me on Pinterest for more early learning ideas.

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Supplies To Collect

Gather the following supplies to make these sweet graham cracker houses:

  • bunny and chick peeps
  • Easter bunny rabbit jubes
  • graham crackers
  • powdered sugar icing
  • cornstarch
  • water
  • assortment of candies
  • green candy sprinkles
  • green gel icing color
  • mixer or whisk
  • plates, spoons, and disposable knives

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Making The Easter Peeps Houses

An oh-so-tasty graham cracker Easter bunny hutch everyone will enjoy making. A sure-to-please Easter activity.

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For this activity, I use powdered sugar icing, a little cornstarch, and water to make the icing.  It’s ideal to have powdered gingerbread house icing available, but I couldn’t find any on short notice.

Start by mixing a few scoops of powdered sugar icing, a teaspoon of cornstarch, and a little water in a bowl. Blend ingredients with a mixer or whisk for a couple of minutes. The icing mixture should be thick and tacky. Add a little more icing sugar if the mixture is too thin, or add a tad more water if it is too thick.

Then set aside some of the icing in a bowl and stir in a tiny bit of green gel icing color.

Next, spread plain icing on the edges of graham crackers and gently assemble them together to make five sides of a cube, leaving one side open. Disposable knives are a good size for little learners to work with.

An oh-so-tasty graham cracker Easter chick coop craft everyone will enjoy making. A sure-to-please Easter activity.

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Note: Name-brand graham crackers are best to use because they are sturdier, don’t break as easily, and come in bigger pieces. Featured here is a no-name brand.

Afterward, select candies to decorate the Easter peeps house with. I feature miniature M&M’s and jelly bellies.

Easter peeps and an assortment of candy to make graham cracker Easter peeps houses.

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Then spread icing on the sides and tops of the graham cracker house and decorate with candies of choice.

If little learners are participating, allow some snacking while working. There will be interesting discussions about candy types, colors, and tastes!

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A Peep Bunny Hutch Or Chick Coop

Create this cute Easter bunny hutch with graham crackers, a peeps bunny, and candy treats. It's an all-ages craft sure to be enjoyed.

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To make an edible bunny hutch scene, spoon a layer of green icing on a plate. Make sure the plate is disposable if participants are taking their tasty creation home.

Then set in the graham cracker “hutch.” Add a few candy sprinkles around it.

Spread a generous amount of icing on the floor of the house and set in two Easter bunny rabbit jubes. These can be bunny babies.

Finally, drop candy sprinkles on the green icing to look like grass, and add an Easter bunny peep and a few gummy eggs.

Create this cute Easter chick coop with graham crackers, a peeps chick, and candy treats. It's an all-ages craft sure to be enjoyed.

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For the chick peep coop scene, set the coop on a plate with green icing, and add candy sprinkles and gummy eggs. Then place the Easter chick peep in the coop.

Create this cute Easter bunny hutch with graham crackers, a peeps bunny, and candy treats. It's an all-ages craft sure to be enjoyed.

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These Easter peeps houses are sure to delight little learners and their families. Do you have any suggestions for how to make them? Leave a comment below.

An oh-so-tasty graham cracker Easter chick coop craft everyone will enjoy making. A sure-to-please Easter activity.

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Related:

Bunny Candy Art

Valentine’s Day Gingerbread Cookies

Easy S’Mores Bars

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Honeycomb Cereal Necklace Lacing

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A fun honeycomb cereal necklace lacing activity that is great for fine motor control and eye-hand coordination practice. An all-ages craft.

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Honeycomb cereal is tasty to eat, but is also super fun to use in a craft activity. In this post, the craft idea is honeycomb cereal necklace lacing.

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Follow me on Pinterest for more early learning ideas.

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Honeycomb Cereal “Snowflake” Necklace

With its six sides, each honeycomb makes a nice “snowflake.” And having holes, the cereal is perfect for lacing a “snowflake” necklace.

A thin lacing cord works best for threading honeycomb. In fact, the thinner the cord the better.

Older children may enjoy the challenge of lacing each honeycomb down one side and up the other. And they can make a game of it by seeing who can string the most honeycomb cereal in the shortest amount of time.

For younger children, it’s best to suggest lacing through the center hole.

A fun and tasty lacing honeycomb cereal activity for little learners.

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Some honeycomb pieces have holes that are too small to thread lacing cord through, so they are perfect for snacking on.

Stretching the cord while working may break a few, but again, the honeycomb bits are just another excuse for snacking on the tasty morsels!

After some practice, this first string of honeycomb is ready to be tied as a necklace.

A fun honeycomb cereal "snowflake" necklace lacing activity that is great for fine motor control and eye-hand coordination practice.

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More Honeycomb Cereal Necklace Lacing

Naturally, it’s hard to stop after lacing just one string of honeycomb cereal. Here’s a pink version for Valentine’s Day.

A fun honeycomb necklace lacing activity that is great for fine motor control and eye-hand coordination practice.

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And below is a version for a bumblebee theme, the most natural fit for honeycomb cereal.

A fun honeycomb cereal necklace lacing activity that is great for fine motor control and eye-hand coordination practice. An all-ages craft

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Finally, since the lacing cord comes in Easter colors and I have a few jube bunnies hanging around, the chewy treats are included in a necklace craft photo.

A fun honeycomb cereal necklace lacing activity that is great for fine motor control and eye-hand coordination practice. An all-ages craft

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Lacing honeycomb cereal is a perfect opportunity to practice eye-hand coordination and fine motor control while casually snacking on the flavorful cereal.

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A fun bee theme honeycomb cereal necklace lacing activity that is great for fine motor control and eye-hand coordination practice.

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Related:

Bunny Candy Art

Silhouette Easter Bunnies

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[Read more…] about Honeycomb Cereal Necklace Lacing

Fun Ways To Serve Watermelon

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Four ways to serve watermelon that make snack time more fun. Orange, yellow, and traditional red watermelon varieties are featured.

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Have you ever heard of orange or yellow watermelon, or white? I decided to locate and taste some of these lesser-known varieties this fall. And with a few different colors at my fingertips, I put together four fun ways to serve watermelon.

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Ten Watermelon Facts

  • Watermelon is a sweet and juicy fruit.
  • Africa is the country it is believed to have been discovered.
  • Pink or red-fleshed watermelon is commonly found in stores.
  • Some watermelons have orange, yellow, or white flesh.
  • Containing 92% water, this cheery fruit helps people stay hydrated.
  • The large fruit is high in vitamins A, B, and C, and contains antioxidants.
  • The seeds of this thirst-quencher are nutritious too.
  • Watermelon is fat-free and low in calories.
  • A long growing season and lots of sunshine are needed to garden this fruit.
  • Watermelon is a popular snack for hot days and picnics.

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Four Fun Ways To Serve Watermelon

Four ways to serve watermelon that make snack time more fun. Orange, yellow, and traditional red watermelon varieties are featured.

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Without any fancy recipes, you can serve watermelon in ways that add creativity and fun to snack and meal times. Including a variety of melon flesh hues will add interest and sensory opportunities, and the different colors are bound to be a conversation piece.

Note: Seedless watermelon varieties are used in this post. Orange, yellow, and red kinds are featured.

Below are four ways to serve watermelon that make snack time more fun.

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Watermelon Skewers

Fruity watermelon skewers using orange, yellow, and red watermelon add fun and sensory opportunities to snack time.

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For an easy way to add novelty to a snack, cut different colors of watermelon into bite-sized pieces and thread them onto wooden skewers. The small chunks don’t have to be perfectly cubed to work. And although the yellow and orange pieces look like pineapple and cantaloupe, they are actually chunks of orange and yellow watermelon.

While snackers eat the fruit, discuss the color and taste of each kind. I found that my purchased yellow and orange watermelon tasted quite similar to red. And my taste-testers were fine with each color.

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Watermelon Popsicles

Juicy watermelon popsicles using orange, yellow, and red watermelon add fun and sensory opportunities to snack time.

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Watermelon is often served in triangular shapes, which works well for popsicles. After cutting the triangles, use a knife to make a slit in the rind of each piece. Next, push in stick handles.

Then freeze the watermelon triangles overnight in a single layer to turn them into popsicles. Or skip the freezing part and serve them immediately.

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Watermelon Suns

Three colors of watermelon are featured in these juicy suns. Blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries fill in the centers.

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For this eye-appealing watermelon snack version, berries are added to the mix.

To make the juicy suns, first cut the watermelons into triangle shapes.

Next, lay slices of each watermelon color on a dinner plate in a circular design, leaving room in the middle for berries.

Then add blueberries or raspberries to the center of each plate.

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Watermelon Sunflowers

Large square serving trays work well for creating watermelon sunflowers.

To create them, start off with the same design as the watermelon suns.

Then add a different colored watermelon leaf, and a stem made with skin-covered rind pieces.

Make this sunflower-shaped snack with yellow and orange watermelon and raspberries. Add strawberries and blueberries for garnish.

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On the tray above, yellow watermelon serves as the sunflower petals. The leaf is a slice of orange watermelon, and raspberries are the “seeds.” Blueberries and strawberries complete the tray.

Make this sunflower-shaped snack with orange and yellow watermelon and raspberries. Add strawberries and blueberries for garnish.

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On this second tray, the sunflower has orange petals and a yellow watermelon leaf.

Create a juicy sunflower with red watermelon petals, a yellow watermelon leaf, and a blueberry seed center.

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Traditional red watermelon is featured in this third design. The leaf is yellow watermelon. Blueberries are the “seeds.”

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Purchasing Watermelon Varieties

Red watermelon is easy to spot in grocery stores. Orange, yellow, and white varieties are harder to locate, and will likely be more expensive. I was able to find the yellow watermelon in a tray of precut slices and purchased the orange one whole. Tasting a white watermelon is on my list to do next summer!

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Watermelon Recipes

Ready to add more flavor and variety to your watermelon snacks? Check out the recipes in the blog post “45+ Watermelon Recipes” by Country Living.

And how about some watermelon pizza, featured on Mom On Time Out?

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Related: Watermelon Playdough Tray

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