Author:

Frozen Chocolate-Covered Bananas
Who doesn’t want a healthy and tasty dessert on a hot summer evening? Trade the butterfat and sugar of ice cream for the sublime sweetness of a frozen chocolate-covered banana. This fun and simple dessert is easy for kids to create themselves, and will please the whole family.

What You Need:
4 ripe bananas
4 craft sticks
1 bag of chocolate chips
Small saucepan along with a metal or glass bowl that fits over the top
Spatula
Parchment paper
Plate
What You Do:

Invite your child to peel four ripe bananas, then gently press the craft sticks into the bananas at one of the ends and just slightly to the side.

Now your child can place the bananas on a sheet of parchment paper placed on a plate. Next, she can place those bananas in the freezer to prep them for the next part of the recipe.

Help your child fill half of a small saucepan with water and simmer it over medium heat. She can place the metal or glass bowl over the top of the pan, which creates a double-boiler.

Now she can put the chocolate chips in the glass bowl and gently stir with the spatula until the chocolate is melted. Offer help as needed – the saucepan will be hot!

Once all the chocolate has melted, invite your child to turn off the heat and get the bananas out of the freezer.

Now she can dip the cold bananas in the chocolate, using the spatula to help coat them as necessary. Once each banana has been coated, your child can place them back on the parchment covered plate and then back in the freezer.

Let the chocolate-covered bananas chill in the freezer for at least an hour before giving them a taste.

Make Ice Cream in a Baggie!
Based on the concept of water’s “freezing point,” this activity entails lowering the freezing point to chill another substance—in this case, ice cream! Sure, the potential for making a mess seems likely, but you’ll be surprised at the ease and “delicious” fun you’ll have with your child when you make ice cream in a baggie!

What You Need:
1 quart resealable plastic bag
1 gallon resealable plastic bag
¼ cup of sugar
¼ teaspoon of vanilla flavoring
½ cup of whole milk
Rock salt
Ice cubes
Thermometer
Measuring cup
Polyfoam or Styrofoam cups
Plastic spoons
What You Do:
Have your child place 1/4 cup of sugar, 1/2 cup of milk, and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla flavoring into a 1-quart plastic bag, securely seal the bag, and mix well.

Next, add 2 cups of ice to a 1-gallon plastic bag.

Add between 1/2 and 3/4 cups of rock salt to the gallon bag.

Place the sealed quart bag into the gallon bag. Close the larger bag securely.

Holding the large bag by the top seal, gently rock the bag from side to side. Kids should not hold the bag in their hands, as it will be too cold and could cause damage to their hands.

Continue rocking the bag until the contents of the quart bag have solidified.

Have your child remove the frozen contents (ice cream) from the quart bag and place in cups to consume. Yummy!
What Happened?

Just as we use salt on icy roads in the winter, salt mixed with ice in this case causes the ice to melt. That’s because when salt comes into contact with ice, the freezing point of the ice is lowered. By lowering the temperature at which ice is frozen, one is able to create a situation in which the milk mixture can freeze at a temperature below the freezing point of the ice cream mixture.

An alternative to the plastic baggie method is to use empty coffee cans. The recipe is the same, but this time place the mixture in a standard size coffee can and seal with the plastic lid, then place that can inside a larger coffee can. Pack the large can with ice and salt, and seal with the lid. Have your child the roll the can back and forth on the floor until the ice cream is set. Once again, “happy” eating!

Bake Fall Leaf Cookies
Your child can turn cookie dough into a big pile of colorful painted fall leaves ready for eating! Along with being very flavorful, they are wonderful fall gifts for friends and family.

What You Need:
½ c room temperature butter
½ c sugar
1 egg
¼ teaspoon vanilla
Dash of salt
1 ½ c flour
Mixing bowl
Hand mixer
Spatula
Sketch paper and pencil
Rolling pin
Butter knife
Sheet pan
Powdered sugar
Red and yellow food coloring
Paintbrushes
Water
What You Do:
Invite your child to measure and add the butter, sugar, vanilla, salt, and egg to the mixing bowl. She can use the spatula to break up the butter and then, with some adult supervision, use a hand mixer to whip everything together.

Now she can do a little math to figure out how to divide the amount of flour needed by thirds. Along with making tasty cookies, she’s learning math skills! Once she’s figured out the correct measurement, she can add a third of the flour and stir, then another third and stir, and finally the last of the flour.

Next your child can place the sugar cookie dough in the fridge for 20-minutes to set-up.

While she’s waiting, invite your child to sketch out leaves on a piece of sketch paper. She can take a look outside for fall leaf inspiration!

Invite your child to preheat the oven to 350 F. and lightly dust a clean work surface with flour. Now she can place half of the cookie dough on the work surface, dust with a bit more flour, and roll until about ¼ inch thick.

Offer your child a butter knife to cut leaf shapes from the sugar cookie dough and then place on the sheet pan.

Once she’s filled the pan with lots of leaf shapes, pop the cookies into the hot oven for about 12 minutes.

While the cookies are baking, she can mix up the colors for painting her cookies. Your child can place 2 Tbsp of powdered sugar into a small cup and then add a few drops of red food coloring. Now she can do the same with another 2 Tbsp of powdered sugar, another small cup, and a few drops of yellow food coloring. She can finish the paints with a couple of drops of water, using clean paintbrushes to mix.

Once the cookies have cooled, invite our child to use her edible paints to finish her fall leaf cookies. She can blend the edible paints while painting the cookies or paint them all one color.