Mix jam (fruit sweetened, no sugar added) into plain yogurt for a healthful, everyday snack.
This homemade version is less expensive and more versatile than buying smaller individual containers of flavored yogurt without the ton of sugar typically added.
Plus, toddlers who love to help can make it themselves! Score, an everyday learning activity!
1) Vocabulary/concept building: First stir your spoon clockwise, then stir it counter-clockwise. “Quick, switch! Time to stir your spoon clockwise!”
2) Color lesson: What color is the yogurt mixture? Mix in some more fruit spread. How does the color change? Is it darker or lighter? What color is it?
3) Taste lesson: Discuss the taste of the plain yogurt. As you’re mixing in the fruit, stop occasionally to see how the yogurt begins to taste sweeter. Mix in a different flavor (i.e. mix blueberry into the strawberry yogurt) and talk about how the taste changes.
Yes, we really do stuff like this at home.
Yes, we’re nerds.
Yes, we can’t help it. For us, it’s fun!
YAY NERDS!
i’ve been extra nerdy trying to prepare for my upcoming move. to the point where chris will walk by me as i, say, draw out a scale model of his spare bedroom and cut out to-scale versions of my furniture, and he’ll bleat “NERRRRRRRD” at me :)
LOVE this post! Reminds me so much of how my mom was with me — such a fantastic foundation to become an independent and interactive learner. Also, anything involving jam is sure to be critical to proper development. Right?
p.s. Please count me in the nerd census, not just for my ridiculous love of turning all activities with kids into learning experiences, but also because I’ve done the scale-model thing Alice just confessed to. With graph paper. Um, and colors.