Alphabet Kids Snacks: A is for Ant

Alphabet kids snacks are a great way to create a fun edible learning experience AND provide an introduction to reading for preschoolers. Whether your child is just learning their ABCs, or ready to start learning the sounds that letters make and words they belong in, you can use these easy kid snack ideas to make learning fun and tasty. Today’s letter in the alphabet kids snacks series is “A is for Ant”.

EASY HEALTHY KIDS SNACK

This is one of those cute kid snacks that make you feel like a million bucks.

You spend all of maybe 3 minutes on it while holding the baby (8 minutes if you’re photographing it for a blog post!). It’s simple and healthy, and your toddler squeals with delight when you present it to them, then they spend the entire time they’re eating chanting “A is for ant, a, a, a, aaaaannnnnttttttt.”

It’s one of those moments that make you think, okay, maybe I can be a homeschool mom one day.

And then they spend the rest of the afternoon throwing tantrums and jumping on the baby and you think, “Are you crazy? Get that child into a pre-school stat!”

Honestly, I’m still struggling with trying to decide if I’m supposed to homeschool or not, but we have time to make that decision. So for now, I’m just setting a goal of at least an hour of learning play every day. And that’s where the alphabet kids snacks come in so handy.

HOMESCHOOL FOR PRESCHOOLERS

Since Corban eats a snack or two each day, that’s an easy way to do our “preschool homeschool” time. Whether it’s an alphabet snack, counting scoops and spoonfuls as we cook together, or arranging his snack into patterns (pea, broccoli, pea, broccoli, pea…what comes next Corban?), we’ve had a lot of fun using snack time as learning time.

We also read at least 10 books every day, or maybe 20. Not because I’m so great at making sure we do that, but because my son LOVES reading and spends the whole day asking to be read to. We try not to ever say no to reading, unless it’s being used as an excuse to not go to sleep at bedtime (meaning every single night!).

In fact, I will often try to find a children’s book that goes well with the snack for the day. A great one for this raisin ant snack is the book Hey, Little Ant by Phillip M. Hoose.

This book is geared to 3-7 year olds, but Corban loves reading so much that he’s just made the move from board books to older kid books, and has really taken to books that have a lesson to be learned. Since we are currently working on teaching empathy (note the jumping on his baby sister comment earlier), this book is a current library favorite for all of us.

You can also sing the Ants Go Marching song while making the snack, or as a fun physical song and play time after snack.

If you like this snack, be sure to sign up to receive our free download of 5 Quick Cute Healthy Snacks for Kids. Any other learning ideas for activities to do with ants?

ALPHABET KIDS SNACKS: A IS FOR ANT

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Alphabet Kids Snacks: A is for Ant

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Alphabet kids snacks are a great way to create a fun edible learning experience AND provide an introduction to reading for preschoolers. Whether your child is just learning their ABCs, or ready to start learning the sounds of letters and words they belong in, you can use these easy kid snack ideas to make learning fun and tasty. This snack turns raisins into ants and uppercase and lowercase letter A's.

Prep Time 3 minutes

Total Time 3 minutes

Ingredients

• 30 raisins, any variety is fine
• 1 uncooked spaghetti noodle (you can use any kind, whole wheat, gluten free, etc)
• 1 large baby spinach leaf

Instructions

1. Use 9 of the raisins to form three ants, then arrange the remaining raisins into an upper and lowercase A.
2. Break the noodle into tiny segments for ant legs, six to an ant.
3. Use scissors to cut the spinach leaf in half long ways, and then to cut one half into spikes of grass.

Notes

Approximate cost/serving: This costs practically nothing. We get raisins in bulk at the health food store. I can't even calculate the cost honestly because it's so little.
Vegetarian/Gluten Free: Yes to both, just make sure to use a gluten free spaghetti noodle.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

1

Serving Size:

1 Servings
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 42Saturated Fat: 0gSodium: 1.5mgCarbohydrates: 11.1gFiber: .5gSugar: 8.4gProtein: .5g

Oh, P.S. You’ll notice this snack is a little light on calories and protein, so I give him a piece of cheese or some nuts to go with it.