Homemade allergy food posters

Like most toddlers and preschoolers, my munchkins think stickers and gloopy glue is the absolute bomb.
Transferring stickers from a sticker sheet to a plain piece of paper is a favorite pass time according to Little miss and my little man simply loves applying glue to anything, weather it be glue in a stick, tube or brushing it onto a object.

Since this morning was a tad windy outside and my munchkins are still winding down from a busy weekend I thought we could take the opportunity to do something crafty while we were inside.

Will loads of junk mail catalogues on the kitchen bench I saw an opportunity to prepare a craft that not only my munchkins would enjoy, but it as a great thing to strengthen their knowledge of their own food allergies.

I sat down and cut different food items out of the catalogues and some magazines we had, making sure I was cutting out items that my children would recognise, clear pictures and nothing too tricky, both safe foods and not safe.

Next I went to the craft cupboard and found the sticky backed foam sheets and cut out the letter's to create 'SAFE'' and 'NOT SAFE'' as well as a big tick and cross. (you can get foam sheets from most cheap shops such as Crazy Clark's, reject shop etc)

Armed with two big white pieces of paper and telling the munchkins we were going to make some super dooper food posters to go next to our play kitchen....the fun began.

I showed them the foam letter stickers and let them help me find the correct letters to create the different poster titles - 'SAFE' and 'NOT SAFE'
This proved a good way to allow them to use letter recognition and the added fun of peeling and sticking each letter on the paper, rather than Mummy just writing the words on the paper.

The munchkins went through the small basket of food pictures, one by one taking turns to apply the glue and stick on the correct poster as to weather the particular food was safe or  not safe for their current allergies.
Each food item that came out of the basket created much conversation between the munchkins and I was surprised as to how much they actually knew about what they could and could not eat. They knew straight away whether most of the foods were safe or not and only had to ask mummy about some of the tricky ones in packets.

They had so much fun even sticking, gluing and being "very clever big boy and big girl" :P
They didn't even notice that they were learning more about their food allergies, they certainly did make mummy proud!

The result is two fantastic looking homemade food poster's with very clear ,simple, accurate and visual messages to stick up in our play kitchen area.

• A silent constant reminder to the munchkins about their allergies,
• a insight to adult visitors that come to our home
• an education tool for little friends into what foods Thalia and Declan can eat
• a display of a art that my munchkins can be proud of and share with others
• creates opportunities for allergy conversations

Here are the finished posters...

I think this activity is a great way for a child to learn about their food allergies, or to non allergic children to learn more about nutrition and what are "all the time foods" (veggies, fruit, bread etc) and "sometimes foods" (cupcakes, lollies, ice cream etc).

The activity can be as simple or complicated as it needs to be, it can easily be adjusted for different ages. For example to make it age appropriate for a young allergy teenager you might cut out food labels (safe and not safe for the particular child's allergies) and allow them to look, read and ascertain whether the product is safe or not. You could also use different recipes with two folders for the child to sort out which recipes are safe for them.

I'm definitely going to revisit this activity when my munchkins get a little older.

Something Fishy

Last month I started thinking about the munchkins age

and what a good experience it would be to have a pet.

I was thinking on a simple small scale

-a dog , cat or say chicken was out of the question

due to allergies and asthma, not to mention cost

but some fishes seemed like a good idea.

We wanted something fairly cheap so that

if or when we accidentally killed it if it sadly passed

we could replace it easily.

My parents didn't have a good run with a tank of simple goldfish

in my own childhood.

Many a fish made it's way down the loo or buried in the garden.

So the task at hand was to find something super doper strong, cheapish and easy to look after.

To google I went....

until I found THIS

Good old Burke's backyard had done a fact sheet

on Siamese fighting fish....

Things that stood out:

$4-$18

  fairly cheap!

Maintenance was low

hooray

Recommended for: anyone, those with little spare time or space

 yep

this animal is able to not only breath through its gills but also through a supplemental breathing structure - the 'labyrinth'. This structure is located in a chamber above the gills and is well supplied with blood vessels which absorb air gulped-in through the mouth. This enables the fish to survive in oxygen-poor, or even stagnant water.

eg. water dirtied, swirled around 'decorated' by the hand of a small child...lol

The ornamental fish are available in just about colour

pretty

temperate regions of Australia should not really require additional tank heating

lowering the cost

Although these fish are able to survive in poor quality water, regular water changes are still required. Change 1/3 of the water each week for a small bowl, 1/4 each month for an aquarium and the entire amount once weekly for a small container.

sounds easy

These fish can live in the smallest of tanks, and are often kept in decorative glass jars, small containers, or Betta barracks

We can go to a cheap shop and buy vases or jars of our choice

and don't have to find the space for a tank!!! :)

especially good animal for a first-time pet owner or someone with little time or space for a regular pet. Very low maintenance.

sounds like a plan!

After hubby and I had done our research and agreed that Siamese fighting fish sounded like a pet we were most likely able to keep alive and well, the deal was done.

The next morning we told the munchkins there would be a surprise

at the end of our shopping trip..

We had fun at the pet store looking at the fighting fish colours

Little Miss picked a reddish one (closest to pink she could find)

and Little man picked a blue.

A visit to Choice (cheap shop) found two vases for their homes

and rocks to add some colour and texture.

The fish themselves were $9 each,

their food was very cheap and

you simply buy special drops to add to tap water.

We had some very happy munchkins with their new fish

Lightning McQueen (red one) and Mr The King (blue).

I am happy to say that the fish we brought that day still live

quite safely in our home

and their is much excitement and volunteered help when

the fish need to be fed.

The munchkins love to watch their special pets

and often sing them to bed :)

Here are the happy munchkins with their pets

Declan and Mr the King

Cheeky Thalia and Lightning McQueen

Food prep for Spring Fair

Our family will be attending a spring fair tomorrow,

we attend the same fair every year and try to prepare for it as best we can.

We plan ahead and be very organised to attend and make it is fun and enjoyable for our munchkins, despite the fact that they have food allergies, skin concerns and asthma.

Like most Fairs it has entertainment, rides, sometimes animals, stalls and lots of lots of yummy foods.

The only food that can be purchased safely for our munchkins at this stall is corn on the cob with butter, a lovely snack that they enjoyed last year.

We are hoping this stall is there again this year too.

But there will be so many yummy looking foods to which we will have to explain is a no no and not safe, in order to keep our kids happy, give them a treat and keep them safe we pack all the food with a special twist.

The fair if my memory serves me correctly doesn't sell show bags, but most children would be able to buy hot chips, cake, lollies, a burger and the usual fair foods.

Although I will have to pack my munchkins morning tea to bring I thought it would be nice to pack it in small 'show bag' so that they can also have a special food experience at the fair.

This is what I came up with...

My little Man and Little Miss will both receive their 'showbags' on arriving at the fair.

each 'show bag' contains:

a sticker book

(fairies and transport. we were running out of stickers :P)

two little people cars

(Declan has been asking for cars to play with in the sand and these do the trick,

they will also come in handy when they go for a quick holiday with Nan and Pop next weekend to Ballina to the beach)

Authentic Original french fries

(so they can also eat chip like everyone else, even if they aren't hot)

Lotus organic Banana chips

(from Mrs Flannerys, no preservative's or traces of nuts, the munchkins consider this a special treat)

Artisse organic lolly pop

(free of gluten, wheat, dairy,peanut, soy and gmo)

small sweet William chocolate

(free from peanuts and tree nuts, lactose, cholesterol, animal products, no artificial colours and preservatives and low GI)

This year I have decided to pack a lunch consisting of:

honey sandwiches

cheese sandwiches

small plain yogurt tubs

a small glad snap bag of green seedless grapes

special desert -homemade chocolate cupcakes with sprinkles

small biscuits for a extra snack if needed

I almost always pack too much but better have more than have a child hungry, especially one with allergies...you can't just stop the car or pick something up at a stall that is safe.

Hubby and I have decided to pack our own lunches too so the kids don't have to watch as we eat hot chips or burgers in front of them, plus saving money and being healthy at the same time helps.

We will pack salad sandwiches, grapes and muffin bars for ourselves.

Before we leave in the morning, antihistamines will be given, eczema creams and suncream applied, allergy wrist band on declan, water bottles filled, safe food talk to munchkins whist travelling in the car, medications in the nappy bag checked (epi pens, antihistamine's, creams, thermometer, pain relief) and make sure the wipes container is full to the brim (you can never have too many wipes when allergies are involved) and hopefully we will all enjoy a fun safe day!