Teachers, want to make ABCs fun? Here are healthy animal alphabet-themed snacks from A-Z. Use Alpha-Bits cereal, letter pretzels, cookies for letter shape. Make character sandwiches using any spread and leave open face. Use pretzels or matchstick carrots for whiskers. For eyes, use Cheerios, spray cheese, raisins, olives, banana or kiwi slices. Make ears, nose and mouth from apple bits, pimentos, pepper pieces, triangle chips or crackers. Use pretzel sticks for legs. For cookie creations, use candy or fruit to make faces.
A
–apples and almond butter
–ants on a log (celery spread with cream cheese and raisins)
B
–banana animal boat: Peel banana. Cut a slit; add animal crackers.
–bunny bites (baby carrots, broccoli)
–berry blue blaster (blueberries and yogurt)
C
–cheese and crackers
–C3 crudites (celery, cauliflower, carrots with cream cheese)
–Cheery cherry cat cookies (frosted cookies with maraschino cherry eyes and nose)
D
–dill pickles
–dolphin crackers
–dog chow (square and round breakfast cereals–Life, Cheerios, Kix)
–duck duck goose (marshmallow Peeps, animal crackers)
E
–elephant eggs (deviled eggs)
–Cadbury Eggs
F
–favorite finger foods
–fish crackers
–favorite fresh fruit
G
–gorilla cookies (big cookies with banana slices)
–goofy giraffe: Poke raisin eyes in Swiss cheese cube head. Place cheese cube on pretzel rod, celery or carrot stick neck. Poke in apple body. Add pretzel legs.
H
–healthy hot dogs (cheese stick on whole grain bun with sliced veggies)
–hen witches (egg sandwiches)
–horse and haystacks: Mix melted butterscotch chips, chow mein noodles and coconut.Serve with horse animal crackers.
I
–ice cream clowns: (scoop of ice cream for head, ice cream cone hat, candy eyes and mouth).
–Indian corn pancakes. Add canned corn to pancake mix; shape pancakes in letter I.
J
–Jamberry Jam-witches (PBJ sandwiches)
–Jaguars: (cat face sandwiches)
K
–King Kong cookies (like gorilla cookies)
–Kangaroo pockets (pita pocket bread with favorite fillings)
L
–lambkins (hard boiled eggs, pretzel legs, eyes)
–lemonade with lime slices
–lettuce pinwheels (tortilla spread with cream cheese, ham slices, lettuce, rolled up, sliced)
M
–mushroom martians. (whole mushrooms with spray cheese eyes)
–meow munch mix (like Dog Chow)
–Mouse food (cheese chunks)
N
–narwal noses (pretzels swirled in colored frosting)
–noodles
–nutty squirrel nibbles (peanut butter cookies or sandwiches)
O
–otter pops: (decorated frosted sugar cookie face)
–ostrich or owl omelets (favorite omelet recipe)
–olives
P
–pink piggy parfait (pink yogurt decorated with fruit pig face)
–pretzels, popcorn and peanut butter
–puppy pizza (puppy face made with pepperoni, peppers and pineapple)
Q
–quail quiche tarts: Place pie crust circles in muffin tin. Mix eggs, milk, cheese, pepper, garlic, salt and favorite add-ins. Bake.
–Quarters (foil-wrapped candy coins)
–Nestle Quick (tell students to drink it “quietly.”)
R
–red roses: Place two Hershey’s Kisses end to end. Wrap in red plastic wrap. Add green pipe cleaner.
–ratatouille: (vegetable soup)
–Rabbit-wiches ( oval carrot slices for ears)
S
–summer squash slices
–sunflower sandwiches: Cut bread round. Frost with cream cheese. Arrange apple slices in flower shape with sunflower seeds in center
–silly soup: Warm fruit juice; add fruit pieces.
T
–tangerine T (iced tea with tangerine slices)
–tiny tacos (round tortilla chips with meat, cheese, tomatoes)
— turkey taters: Poke carrot, celery sticks in baked potato for feathers. Add spray cheese eyes, pimento wattle.
U
–umbrella cookies: Poke candy cane or pretzel stick into marshmallow pinwheel cookie.
–upside down cake (recipe from All She Cooks; you can use any canned fruit, not just pineapple.)
V
–very vanilla valentines (frosted cookies decorated with V shaped snacks)
–veggies and dip
W
–witchy-poo wands (pretzels rods dipped in frosting and sprinkles)
-walrus-wiches (use pretzels for tusks)
–weather vanes: Poke pretzel sticks in cheese chunk to make X. Attach letters N, W, S, E to appropriate points on X.
X
–tic-tac-toe(x and o shaped pretzels)
–X-men: Make like weather vanes. Omit letters; Add eyes and pretzel antennae with marshmallow on the end.
Y
–yak milk (plain milk)
— Dr. Suess Pink Yink Ink Drink (recipe from Seussville)
–yellow lemon yogurt
Z
–zoo mobile (animals crackers lined up like a train)
–zippers (Fruit by the Foot)
Some pretending is required for yak milk, quail eggs, elephant eggs. Kids will be happy to oblige. Follow up with free printable animal alphabet coloring pages. Jim Arnosky has created 100 different animal coloring pages. And here are printable letter coloring pages with animals and plants whose names begin with that letter hiding inside. Have kids identify as many as they can. Snacks, games and crafts make learning hands-on and fun.
