It’s National S’mores Day

August 10, 2012

Who decided it was National S’more day? Who cares! It’s an excuse to have some more! The first official S’more recipe was published by the Girls Scouts in 1927. The basic recipe calls for graham crackers, chocolate bars and toasted marshmallows. Here are some fun ways to learn with S’mores. It’s S’more time!

Marshmallows for preschoolers

Field Trip: Grocery Store

Take a field trip to your local store with this list

chocolate bars
marshmallows of various sizes
graham crackers
rounded toothpicks
S’more Cones – peanut butter, chocolate morsels, sugar cones, bananas & aluminum foil

Math Skills & Language Arts: Explore the ingredients

Marshmallows

What shape are marshmallows?
Are they all the same shape? The same size? The same color?
Sort by size and color.
Count them. Eat some. How many are left?
How do they feel? How do they taste?

Graham Crackers

What shape are graham crackers?
Does the shape change when you break them apart?
Can you break it half? In quarters? How many quarters in a full cracker?
Are they all the same shape? The same size? The same color?
Break some up and sort by size and shape.
Count them. Eat some. How many are left?

Chocolate Bars

Smell the chocolate. Do you like the way it smells? Does it remind you of anything?
What happens if you hold the chocolate in your hand really tight? Does it melt?

Art: Marshmallow Construction – Edible Tinkertoys

Preschool art project ideas marshmallows and toothpicks You’ll need bags of marshmallows and a box of toothpicks. Let your child build anything by sticking the toothpicks in the marshmallows. Try it with small, large and colored marshmallows. (Too young for toothpicks? Build by stacking the marshmallows. Try ‘gluing’ together with a lick or some water. Buy blunt toothpicks.)

Outdoor/PE/Gross Motor Skills: FOOD FIGHT!!!!!

Sometimes it’s o.k. to break the rules. For this activity just go outside and have a ‘snowball’ fight with marshmallows! Can Mommy catch them in her mouth? Can Daddy throw them the farthest? Toss them in a basket. Make a target…

Cooking Project: S’mores

Traditional S’mores

Do you really need instructions? Break a graham cracker in half. Put a square or two of chocolate on it. Roast a marshmallow over the fire. Place it on top of the chocolate and sandwich it with another graham on top. Eat it. Make S’more!

Try making a microwaved S’more. Just put a marshmallow on top of a graham cracker and microwave for about 20- 30 seconds until the marshmallow starts growing and melting. Take out and add the chocolate and second graham cracker to make a sandwich. Try it with all ingredients together for some seriously melted chocolate.

Try it with a different chocolate candy – like a peanut butter cup. YUM!!!!!!!!

S’more Cones

Smores traditional or kick it up! You’ll need: Sugar Cones, peanut butter, mini marshmallows, chocolate morsels, bananas cut into small chunks and aluminum foil. | Spread the peanut butter in the cone then let the children add the ingredients they want in the cone. Wrap individually in aluminum foil and put over BBQ or fire for 5-10 minutes. Make sure you turn the cones at least a couple of times. Let cool for just a minute or so. Unwrap and eat. | Add some of your own ingredients.

Science Project: Microwave Marshmallows

Microwave Marshmallow preschool science experiment ideas for children Put a marshmallow or two on a microwave safe dish and heat for 30 seconds. How are they different than the uncooked marshmallows? What happened? How do they compare to each other? What happens if you poke them? Do they deflate? What happens if you just leave them alone? Why do you think these things happen?

Try it for 60 seconds, 90 seconds… and compare and contrast. Write down your findings in a chart. Did the marshmallows get bigger the longer they were in the microwave?

Try it with different size marshmallows and compare and contrast. Did the small marshmallows grow faster? Did they get as big as the big marshmallows did?

Want to make it really sticky and messy? Nuke it for 2 minutes or more.

Be careful handling the marshmallows and dish. They can get really HOT.

Social Studies:

S’mores are often made while camping with friends and family. Everyone gathers around the fire and roasts the marshmallows while singing songs, telling stories and talking. A long time ago families used to gather around the fire every night to learn about their ancestors and entertain each other. They didn’t have any books, computers, movies or TVs.

Spanish:

S’mores – S’mores
Graham Cracker - de galletas graham
Marshmallow - malvavisco
Chocolate – Chocolate
Inflate – inflar
square – cuadrada
rectangle - rectángulo

Want S’more!?

Did you think your child could learn so much making S’mores? There are learning opportunities everywhere. Keep your eyes and ears open and always be learning and always be teaching. You are your child’s life long teacher. Explore and learn together everyday.