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Friday, January 6, 2012

Marshmallow Snowboys and Snowgirls

Jonah is 7 and in 2nd grade. He has a number of severe food allergies: corn, soy, egg, and peanuts/tree nuts just to name a few. If you are not familiar with these types of allergies, it means he's allergic to just about everything! That's a pretty harsh reality for a little boy who just wants to be like everyone else.

Every year at school, we run into the same problem. When there is special snack, he can't eat it. Most schools now have a rule that all food brought in to classes must be store-bought. With Jonah's allergies, there is not too many items available that do not contain a major allergen...not to mention cross-contamination.

His body reacts to even the slightest amount of the ingredient he is allergic to.  So what that means is, no cupcakes or cookies from the grocery, no chips or pretzels, not even popsicles or ice cream sandwiches. Have you ever had to tell a child no to every snack when everyone else is eating it? It stinks!!

Today I brought in a special snack for Jonah's whole class. I wanted one special day that Jonah could eat the treat without worrying. With all the food needing to be packaged, I really had to think of something we could do.

 Snowman Marshmallows is what we decided to do...
there's nothing offensive about snowmen, it is winter,
and I thought the kids would have fun putting the
snowman together in their own way.

So, the ingredients: organic marshmallows (we used both large and small), a popsicle stick (or you could use a craft stick, pretzel sticks, and chocolate chips (again, I used 2 sizes - mini and regular). But this is something you can really use your imagination on and use or add anything from sprinkles, to colored sugar or even candy like M&M's or Skittles.



These are some of the results. The kids had a great time making the snowmen. Once we ran out of the big marshmallows, or they ate them all, the kids made yet another snowman, this time just using the small marshmallows. Some kids made robots, some just ate the marshmallows.

Just an FYI: If you decide to make this for a school project, know that Jewish and Muslim faiths do not eat non-kosher/falal marshmallows. I did not know this beforehand, and there are 3 Muslim faith children in the class. I'm not sure if the teacher knew either, but if I had known I would've brought something that they were able to eat. I hate seeing children left out, especially if I can do something about it! (Jonah is almost always left out, so I'm very sensitive to that). After a discussion with the teacher and the kids, we decided that the kids could still decorate a snowman, just not eat it. I certainly didn't want to offend anyone...I'm just glad the kids understood.

Please send pictures if you decide to make a Marshmallow Snowman. We had tons of fun and I'm sure you and your kids would too!

4 comments:

  1. very cute idea! totally understand the allergy bit and it is unfair! good that you are able to take in some things that he can share with the class!
    thanks for stopping by!

    jen
    www.blogparent.blogspot.com
    The Antics of An Autism Mom

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  2. Thanks Jen! Everything still had to be packaged and I couldn't open anything until I got into the classroom! But I guess the most important thing was they had a good time. :-)

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  3. I am very late to visit and to say thank you for linking up to my Pinning and Singing party-I am so sorry! I had a great break over Christmas and am ready to start pinning and singing again in 2012! I hope you will be able to join in with the party again this weekend!

    Thanks also for joining the Pinning Bloggers Master List!

    Best wishes,

    Natasha @ 5 Minutes Just for Me

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  4. I'm headed that way now...thanks for stopping by!

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