When I Grow Up!

Do you remember what you wanted to become when you were a kid? Your kids are with you all the time, looking up to you literally as well as figuratively. It's common for them to want to be just like you, but the possibilities are endless. 
 
For this playgroup we had fun finding out what different things grow up to be.  We passed around some different seeds and talked about the plants they will become when planted.  We also talked about how a caterpiller will grow into a butterfly.  Some of them had no idea a tadpole will become a frog! To help the kids understand that we can grow up to be something we played a fun matching game. 
 

Growing up Matching Game:

We printed out some pictures and posted them throughout the room. We'd give the kids a picture of a seed or baby animal and have them find its grown up match somewhere in the room. The kids loved it and learned a lot about what a seed can grow up to be. Here are some of the matches we used, but feel free to think up some of your own to play with at home!
 

Watermelon Seed - Watermelon
Pumpkin Seeds - Pumpkin
Sunflower Seeds - Sun Flowers

Acorn - Oak Tree

Tadpole - Frog

Caterpillar - Butterfly

Egg - Bird

Child - Fireman/ Doctor/ Singer/ Astronaut

We spent the rest of the time playing with different seeds.  The kids used these seeds to make a picture of themselves.  We printed some outlines for the kids to use off of the internet, but you can just make your own or just start gluing onto a blank piece of paper. 

As a fun snack we made Acorn Rice Crispy Treats!  Here's the recipe we used:

Rice Krispy Acorns!

 

Ingredients:

 

5 Cups Rice Krispy Cereal

4 Cups Marshmallows

¼ Cup Butter

½ Package Chocolate Chips

1 Small Bag of Pretzel sticks

 

 

Directions:
 

1) Melt butter in a pan over low heat.

2) Stir in marshmallows until well blended

3) Add cereal and stir until everything is sticky!

4) Take a large spoonful of mixture and round into a ball.  You’ll then place these balls on a sheet or plate to cool

5) Once cooled, dip the balls into the melted chocolate and insert the pretzel stick as a stem.  You may need to let the treats sit until the chocolate has hardened.