Animal Crackers
Safari Dip
Elephant Grub – Make a fruit salad using apples, watermelon, grapes, strawberries and raspberries.
Antelope Cantaloupe – Use squares of cantaloupe and add pretzel sticks. Each square will get 6 pretzel sticks; 4 for the legs and 2 for the horns.
Prairie Dog Snacks – No-Bake-Cookies
Zebra Cakes
Safari Cheese Snacks
Safari Mix – Mix various flavors of animal crackers with raisins, animal fruit snacks, banana candies and pretzels.
Zebra Corn – Drizzle chocolate candy coating over popcorn.
Monkey Food – Let kids go bananas with this delicious snack! Cut up bananas and add chocolate sauce, nuts and whipped cream on top.
Posted in Snacks, Uncategorized ~ No Comments
Sheep Cupcakes – Make sheep face cupcakes to go with the Day 2 Bible story! Decorate cupcakes with white frosting. Cover with marshmallows and then let kids create a face using chocolate chips.
Fish and Loaves Baskets - In coordination with the Day 4 Bible story, make cookie baskets by pressing sugar cookie dough into a muffin pan so a “bowl” is formed. Bake the cookie baskets. Once cool let kids add a few Goldfish Crackers (to be the fish) and small wheat crackers (to be the loaves).
Jesus is my Hero Cookies – Let kids decorate sugar cookies with colored icing. Using white icing, add a white “J” for Jesus.
Fluffy Flying Clouds – Let kids make their own clouds using Cool Whip. Then give them fruit and pound cake as dippers.
Power Snack – Make a plate of healthy choice snacks – include carrots, celery, grape tomatoes, broccoli, cucumbers and veggie dip.
Super Power Drinks – Use green, red or blue colored drinks or add food coloring to clear sodas.
Posted in Snacks ~ No Comments
Planet Pizzas - Decorate English Muffins with tomato sauce, cheese and pizza toppings
Spaceman Hydration Packs - Use Capri Sun fruit drinks.
Astronaut Ice Cream
Moon Cheese - Make a cheese plate with assorted cheese.
Sweet Milky Way - Use mini Milky Way candy bars.
A Stellar Star - Cut apples in half so that you get the star in the middle. The apple needs to be cut in the middle, not down the stem. Let the kids dip the apples in caramel.
Fruit Satellites - Let kids build a satellite using fruit and toothpicks
Crater Cake - http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/crater-cake-685495/
Twinkle Star Cookies - Cut sugar cookies out with star cookie cutters and let kids add the twinkle with sprinkles.
Moon Pies - http://www.moonpie.com/
Posted in Snacks ~ No Comments
Caramel Camel Snacks – Use slices of apples and melted caramel.
Ancient Egypt Mix – The Nile River was teeming with fish, so naturally fish was the primary food of Ancient Egyptians. Honey and bread were also staples. Remember iconic Ancient Egyptian foods by mixing Goldfishâ crackers and honey graham cereal. In addition, add things like golden raisins, pretzels, chocolate chips and Cheez-itsâ .
Pyramid Brownies – Bake brownies in a regular brownie pan. Cut the pieces in triangle shapes. Let the kids add yellow frosting to the brownies.
Juice of the Nile – Use apple juice.
Pyramid Squares – Use Rice Krispieâ squares to build a pyramid.
Honey, wheat and dates were ancient Egyptian staples. Use those ingredients to create breads, cookies, bars and more. Here are some links to some recipes to try:
Fig Newton Cookies – Figs were also a food of the ancient Egyptians.
Posted in Snacks ~ No Comments
High Tide Kool-Aid® – Use blue Kool-Aid®
Crabby Cup Cakes – Use cup cakes and red frosting. Add “eyes” with chocolate chips and red liquorish for the legs.
Fun Fish Mix – Goldfish® crackers, pretzels, raisins, mini marshmallows.
Fish Bait Cookies – Use sugar cookies, gummy worms and frosting. Have the kids spread frosting on the cookies and add up to 2 gummy worms.
Seaweed Sandwiches – Use white bread, turkey, ham or tuna and shredded lettuce.
Apple Boats – Take 1 half of an apple, 1 pretzel stick (to be the mast) and mini marshmallows (the sail). Gently press the pretzel stick into the apple, then add the mini marshmallows on top of the pretzel stick.
Under the Sea Crackers – Use blue food coloring to dye cream cheese blue. Spread on Ritz® crackers and add Goldfish® crackers.
Posted in Snacks ~ 5 Comments
Cowbell - VBS leader can ring the bell when it is snack time!
Healthy Horse Snack – Use large carrot sticks and let kids dip them in veggie dip.
Cactus Jell-O™ Gigglers – Use green Jell-O™ mix and a cactus shaped cookie cutter
Smore’s Mix - Graham Cracker cereal such as Golden Grahams™, mini chocolate chips and mini marshmallows
Cactus Juice – Use cool-aid or lemonade and add green food coloring.
Haystack Cookies - These are easy for the kids to help participate in. If there are children with peanut allergies try using popcorn!
Cute Cowboy Hats – These mini cowboy hats are perfect to serve popcorn, pretzels, and more in them!
“Cow Pies” - No-Bake-Cookies
Fruit Kabobs
Pretzel sticks with salsa on top (to be a camp fire).
Posted in Snacks ~ 1 Comment
Indoor S’mores – Let kids mix chocolate chips, mini marshmallows and graham cracker sticks or Golden Graham cereal in a bag.
Trail Mix – the classic snack works great for this theme!
Fishing Poles - Tie a “Pull-N-Peel” Twizzler to the end of a long fishing rod. At the other end of the pull-n-peel, tie a gummy worm.
Popcorn Balls
Worms in Dirt Cups
Bug Juice
Posted in Snacks ~ 2 Comments
Tasty Turtles - Spread cream cheese on a Ritz Cracker. Place pretzel pieces in cream cheese to create legs and a tail. Use a green gum drop or jelly bean for a head.
Pond Jello – Use blue jello and put gummy fish, snakes, worms and/or frogs in it.
Frogs on a Log – You’ve seen – and probably used – the Ants on a Log snack. The classic celery stick with peanut butter and raisins. Do the same thing but call it Frogs on a Log. Concerned about allergies? Use cream cheese or veggie dip.
Crocodile Cake or a crocodile made out of cupcakes!
Posted in Snacks ~ No Comments
Here are some ideas for some yummy “down-under” snacks!
Marshmallow Sheep:
Project requires 2 marshmallows, 2 pretzel sticks, 1 tooth pick and frosting of your choice. Begin by breaking the 2 pretzel sticks in half (these are the legs of the sheep); insert all 4 of the pretzel sticks into 1 marshmallow. Take the 2nd marshmallow and cut it in half (this will be used for the head and ears of the sheep). Stick 1 half of the marshmallow on one end of the marshmallow that has the “legs” in it. Use the rest of the marshmallow to create ears for the sheep. To complete take a tooth pick and add a small amount of frosting to the end, carefully dab two eyes, a nose and a mouth. This completes you delicious marshmallow sheep!
Chocoate Crackles - A classic Aussie snack!
Koala Food - Offer a healthy snack of celery sticks and vegtable dip.
Outback Jeep Cake
Joey Mix - Have kids mix together their own snack mix. Use things like pretzels, cheese crackers, chocolate chips, and mini marshmallow.
Have fun snackin!
Posted in Snacks ~ 1 Comment
By Patricia Meyers
How does a Vacation Bible School without the endless runs for “one more thing” sound? Our goal this month is to trigger your thoughts regarding every aspect of VBS so your list is complete. This is the year of the smooth running VBS!
Remember those silly phrases we used as kids to help us remember things? Well, here’s one to help you keep some VBS tasks on your mind. Using the acronym MAT’S GECKO, spend some time doing some thorough thinking. Let your mind roam over each segment completely. Grab a cup of coffee and let’s get started:
M – Music
Where do you need music? Before service, during worship, for puppet songs? What about during craft and snack time? Do you need to order CDs or sheet music? Who needs copies? What about visuals for the words? What kind of music equipment do you need?
A – Arrive early, finish fast
Early arrivers and early finishers can equal trouble. What will you do with kids before VBS begins or those who finish their crafts and activities fast? Extra projects, puzzles, and preparedness can help avoid tense moments.
T – Teachers and Helpers
How will teachers get lesson materials? Are copies needed? How is the daily schedule being communicated? Who takes the kids where? What do you need during assembly time, music time, games, etc? Clear instructions will make everyone feel successful, encourage helpfulness and increase the desire to assist again next year.
What about thank you’s? Will you send form letters, hand write a note, host a luncheon, send a gift card? Do you have up-to-date addresses and phone numbers? Have everything ready ahead of time and you’ll thank yourself later.
S – Safety
Child safety is huge. Think through every area: parking lots, admission, dismissal, etc. Review your registration paperwork. Do you have emergency contacts for each child? Does the paper work include allergy alerts and all other important medical information? What about first aid kits? Are they well-stocked? Does everyone know where they are? Does someone know CPR? Put everything under your safety-scope.
G – Games
Think through every age group’s games. What equipment is needed for indoor games? Outdoor games? Do you need whistles? Stop watches? Score cards? Prizes? Boundary markers?
Do you have kids with health issues? What will they do during this time? They need to have something exciting and invigorating scheduled.
E – Eats
Snack time can be a great memory maker. How creative do you want to be? Some brainstorming now can add zip to your snacks. Who will handle the snacks? Where will they be served? Who is responsible for clean up? How are supplies being gathered? Snacks do not have to be expensive or sugary to be fun and memorable - just thought out.
And back to safety for a moment, how will food allergy information be communicated from the registration table to the snack preparers/servers?
C – Crafts
A major stress-reducer is ordering complete craft kits. Craft time headaches virtually disappear! Check out what Guildcraft is offering for your theme by clicking here: http://www.guildcraftinc.com/vacation-bible-school-vbs-crafts.html. Themed-related items often sell out quickly, so order early so you can be sure that you get what you want! In addition to the main projects, this is a good time to freshen your basic supplies: glue, crayons, pencils, markers, construction paper, etc.
K – Kids’ Eye View
Mentally walk through the day from a kids’ eye view. For example, what happens upon arrival? This is a dangerous time to have nothing planned. Perhaps your puppet team or a theme-related character could host Q&A time. Maybe have silly contests, trivia questions or puzzles going on the PowerPoint. Think through what they will do each day and what item(s) will be needed to keep that time from getting out of control. How will they travel from segment to segment?
Kids have a blast at VBS. Then what? How will you follow up? A letter? A theme-related follow up event? Now’s the time to decide. Attempting to pull something together during VBS will be stressful and haphazard, and not planning something is like leaving fruit on the vine.
O – Object Lessons and Other Visuals
From promos to décor, make a note of every visual needed: outside signage, registration table, hallways, classrooms, etc. Decide who is responsible for what, and be very specific - from the big visual pieces down to the adhesive.
Next, think through all the visuals needed for each lesson from large-group assembly time to small-group story time. Visuals are a great way to help get across your message, so take the time to think about what will work most effectively. Decide who will provide the visuals – you or the teachers?
We hope you enjoyed our acronym of Mat’s Gecko! Just remember it to help you stay on top of that never-ending VBS task list. You are going to have a fabulously organized VBS!
Posted in Crafts, Decorations, Games, Music, Planning, Safety, Snacks ~ No Comments
