Our 3 Fun Friday Activities for Today!

Well, it's finally Friday!!  Time to keep the kids busy busy busy!  Our Fun Friday theme this week is, of course, 4th of July!  This is such a great holiday to do activities for because so many things can be made to look like flags, stars, stripes, and using the colors red, white, and blue!  Here are 3 things we will be making today...

1.  Patriotic Popsicles - Yes, we just made these, but I think we will be making a bigger batch today... 6 just doesn't go very far in our house.  If you have small disposable cups, try experimenting with those in order to make a larger batch, and use straws, popsicle sticks, toothpicks, etc. to hold them.  Also, feel free to use other fruits such as strawberries and cherries for the red, and blackberries for the blue.  You could even use a combination of several different fruits!

2.  Flag Snacks - Like most of our projects, we are using stuff we already have in our fridge/pantry for this one.  So if you would like to "experiment" with us, just take 1 graham cracker longways and spread with plain or vanilla yogurt.  Use blueberries to dot the upper left hand corner where the stars on the flag would be (you are making the background).  Place raspberries side-by-side to make the stripes part of the flag.  Eat and enjoy!  These really were yummy!  My kids want more.  Momma wants more.  'Nuff said.

3.  Star Jigglers - We found a cute ice tray where the ice cube holders are shaped like stars.  Target had them on their $1 aisle!  There is a lonely box of cherry jello sitting in our pantry just waiting to be made into star jigglers!  This should be a big hit!  If you don't have jello, use water, fruit, yogurt, or anything else you may have on hand!  I will post the results of our Star Jigglers!  Would love to see yours too!


What will you be doing on Fun Friday?  Does anyone have any kid-friendly 4th of July recipes that are simple for kids to do?

Yummy Flag Snacks

Like most of our projects, this one started out by rummaging through our pantry and fridge.  Using stuff you already have at home is great for several reasons:

1. You can use up any food that needs to be used or may be expiring soon.
2. You don't have to get your kids loaded in/out of the car!
3. You can stretch your (and your kids') creativity.
4. You don't have to get your kids loaded in/out of the car!!!

So with what we had on hand, and trying to keep with a 4th of July theme, we came up with these Yummy Flag Snacks!  They are super easy to make!  And did I mention they are delicious too!

Yummy Flag Snacks

You will need:

• Graham crackers
• Plain or vanilla Greek yogurt
• Blueberries
• Raspberries, sliced in half

To make:

1.  Spread graham cracker with yogurt.
2. Arrange blueberries in top left corner of cracker to for the "stars" area.
3. Line up raspberry halves on cracker to form the "stripes."
4. Enjoy!

For another delicious (and healthy) 4th of July snack, try these Patriotic Popsicles!

Do you have any favorite 4th of July snacks or dishes you will be making?

Homemade Patriotic Popsicles

This morning we were trying to come up with a fun 4th of July activity that we could do at home inexpensively with things we already had in the house.  Our watermelon popsicles and pear yogurt pops have been disappearing quickly, and we had some fruit in the refrigerator to use up, so we decided to make these patriotic popsicles! 

While it sounded like a great idea at the time, the assembly was a little challenging!  The raspberries and blueberries were really messy and they stain very easily, so we ended up pouring each mixture into a glass with a spout and then pouring each mixture in that way.  I would definitely recommend a funnel to make this a little less messy.  In the end, they turned out good, and we have some fun snacks to eat on the 4th of July (if they last that long)! 

Patriotic Popsicles

You will need:

• 1 1/2 cups  fresh raspberries*
• 1 1/2 cups applesauce*
• 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries*

            * If using frozen, thaw to room temperature

To Make:

1. Puree raspberries in food processor or blender.  Fill each popsicle mold one-third of the way full with raspberry puree.
2. Pour applesauce on top of raspberry puree and fill until two-thirds of the way full. 
3. Puree blueberries in food processor or blender.  Pour blueberry puree on top of applesauce and fill until full.
4. Freeze for at least 4 hours.

Note: If you don't have popsicle molds you could use plastic cups with popsicle sticks.  Or fill ice cube trays with each flavor and add to water for flavor.

(Servings: 6)