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Playing with Food
By Sharon Katz Cooper
We have to eat everyday, but sometimes we get stuck in a food rut.
Macaroni and cheese again, anyone? Do you have trouble getting
vegetables into your child? Sometimes making food more fun can
motivate and excite children and perhaps even get them try new
foods!
Check out the book, Play with Your Food, by Saxton Freymann. Mr.
Freymann has made an entire career out of playing with food, using
his photographs of fascinating sculptures made entirely from foods
that he has carved, peeled and twisted. This book will show you and
your children how to make artichoke-leaf aphids, bok choy buffalos,
okra grasshoppers, green-pepper camels, and pear mice – among other
animals. But the projects described in the book, and those below,
are only a beginning. Once you get started, your imagination is the
only limit to what you can create with the everyday foods in your
kitchen!
Try these simple food sculptures to get started. Once you have made
one or two, challenge your child to come up with her own animals.
Then together, brainstorm what fruits, vegetables and other foods
might be used to create your ideas. Remember to use caution with
sharp knives, depending on the age and skill level of your children.
Banana Octopus
What you need
• A bright yellow banana
• A couple of dry black beans
• Peanut butter, honey, or other adhesive-like food
What to do
1. Carefully begin to peel back the top portion of the banana a
couple of inches in four sections.
2. Once you have these peel sections started, divide them each into
two narrower ones, so you have a total of eight. You can usually do
this with your hands, just gently ripping.
3. Peel all eight sections about two-thirds of the way down your
banana.
4. Turn the banana upside down and attach two black beans for eyes.
5. Set the banana on a plate, arranging the peeled sections so they
are spread out.
6. Voila – an octopus!
Moody Lemons
What you need
• A couple of ripe lemons
• A few dried black-eyed peas
• A sharp knife
• Liquid glue
What to do
1. Ask your child what mood he is in. Or what mood he would like to
portray on a lemon!
2. Carefully carve a mouth on the end of the lemon that was attached
to the stem. This end usually has a little bump that can serve as a
natural nose. Make your mouth sad or happy or angry or wide-open,
depending on what kind of mood you’d like to show.
3. Above the nose and mouth, attach two black-eyed peas as eyes. You
can use glue to attach them – since you probably won’t eat the
outside of your lemon.
4. You’re done. What would your lemon say?
Cantaloupe Turtle
What you need
- A ripe cantaloupe
- A long, narrow red or green pepper
- A sharp knife
- A few dried black-eyed peas
What to do
1. Slice your cantaloupe in half, so you have a dome shaped object.
2. Scoop out the seeds, and if desired, all the flesh inside to eat
later!
3. Cut out a semi-circle shape from one end of the melon, to be used
as a hole for the head. Set the melon flat side down on a plate or
cutting board.
4. Attach two black-eyed peas to one end of your pepper to serve as
eyes. If you want to eat it later, use honey or peanut butter as
your adhesive.
5. Slide your pepper part of the way into the semi-circle opening in
your turtle shell, with the eyes on the end peeking out.
6. There you have your turtle!
This Helps Develop. . .
Working with your child to peel, carve, and decorate your fruits and
vegetables can help develop fine motor skills – the use of small
muscle movements in the hands that occur in coordination with the
eyes. Children build fine motor skills when parents encourage them
to select and gather their own objects with their hands, examine
them carefully and manipulate them.
Social emotional development involves a child’s feelings of self
worth, confidence, and pride as well as their ability to get along
with others in a group setting. Children love to create. As they
create their fruit carvings, they will develop a sense of
achievement and joy. Actively using their imaginations to come up
with new animals and how to make them will also enhance your child’s
communication skills.
This monthly family activity series, “Hands-on-Kids!” is brought to
you by a partnership between the Children’s Museum of Northern
Virginia (CMNOVA) and FAMILY Magazine. For more activities you can
do with your children to spark their love of learning, visit the
CMNOVA web site, www.cmnova.org
. On their web site you will also find information about the
Children’s Museum of Northern Virginia and how you can become
involved. CMNOVA is committed to building a place where our children
can freely explore and develop a lifelong love of learning. Sharon
Katz Cooper is a museum educator and freelance writer in Fairfax.
She is a volunteer with CMNOVA.
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