Materials
variety of shapes of cereals, crackers, and dried fruit pieces
large clear bowl
mixing spatula or spoon
paper plates
1/2 to 1 cup scoop
plastic re-sealable bags
Instructions
1. Send home a note inviting each child to bring in one or more types of cereals,
crackers, or dried fruit.
2. Invite several children to help combine the foods in a large clear container.
3. Invite one or more children to help "mix" the trail mix with a large spoon or
spatula.
4. Have the children sit at a table. Give each child a paper plate.
5. Invite several other children to be the servers. Let them help pour one scoop
onto each plate.
6. After everyone is served, invite the children to sort their trail mix into various
categories, by type of food, shape, color, and so on.
7. After talking about the various ways to sort and classify, invite the children to
munch away on a healthy snack.
8. Send home a baggie of trail mix with each child to share with family
members.
More to do Language and Literacy: Print a list of the trail mix ingredients on a large
sheet of chart paper. Tape or staple the empty bags or boxes next to each word
on the chart. Read the list aloud as you point to the words. Place the chart at a
level where children can reach it. Invite the children to point to each word on
the chart as they name the various food items.
