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Montessori style kids cooking lesson plans with games, snack crafts, book connections


Hello my Omschooligans! Today in the Omschool Tree Fort, Teacher Omi "stirring up" some yummy hands-on kids cooking lesson plans! Here's a menu of Montessori style food-based activities, games, homemade snack crafts, recipes for children and book connections. 

⚠️ CRITICAL SAFETY NOTE: ALLERGY WARNING

Before doing ANY cooking or food exploration with children, it is essential to be fully aware of any food allergies or dietary restrictions they may have and strictly avoid those ingredients.

Common & Major Allergens to Monitor Include:

  • Peanuts & Tree Nuts (almonds, walnuts, cashews, pecans, etc.)
  • Milk & Dairy Products (butter, yogurt, cheese, cream)
  • Eggs
  • Wheat & Gluten
  • Soy
  • Fish & Shellfish (crustaceans and mollusks)
  • Sesame (seeds, tahini, oils)
  • Fresh Fruits & Seeds: Kiwi, tomatoes, coconut, strawberries, citrus, and mustard


Equipment for kids cooking lesson plans

Depending  on age, you will need some special kid-friendly cooking tools. Follow this link to Amazon for kids' cooking sets under $20. These are not toys or pretend cooking utensils. They are specially designed Montessori cooking sets for children to use to prepare real food. I linked you to a baking set and this cooking kit for kids I purchased for use in the Omschool kitchen! Special kid-friendly utensils to provide include:

  • child-safe plastic knives 
  • cutting board
  • peelers and choppers
  • kitchen scissors
  • oven mitt
  • apron
  • recipe book
  • mild dish soap like Mrs. Meyers
Basic cooking supplies that don't need to be child-safe include:
  • scraper
  • spatula
  • grater
  • veggie spiralizer
  • measuring cups and spoons
  • timer 
  • whisk 
  • rolling pin
  • dish cloth and dish towel
  • cookie cutters
  • baking sheets
  • step stool 
  • pots and pans
  • can opener
  • kitchen scale (balance or digital)

Kid-friendly Kitchen accommodations and work arounds

Having children work over an electric or open flame gas stove is very risky, especially in a group. This should be taught one or two on one. But there are workarounds that are surprisingly child-friendly. 

Toaster Oven

This substitutes very well for a full-size oven especially when cooking in child-sized smaller portions. Our daughter was making refrigerated biscuits in a toaster oven at age four, with appropriate adult supervision. One recipe we loved to make was "pigs in a blanket." 


🐷 Kids' Kitchen: Pigs in a Blanket 🐷

Fun & Simple Toaster Oven Snack

🛒 Ingredients

  • 1 can refrigerated biscuits
  • 1 pack nitrate-free beef hot dogs or cocktail wieners
  • 1 whole carrot (peeled into curls for piggy tails)
  • For eyes: Small black olive slices or yellow mustard

🛠️ Kid-Friendly Tools Needed

Child-safe plastic knife or kitchen scissors, vegetable peeler, cutting board, and a baking sheet.

👩‍🍳 Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. Prep the Oven: Preheat your toaster oven (or conventional oven) to 375°F (190°C). Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Cut & Roll: Flatten each biscuit and use a child-safe knife or kitchen scissors to cut them into triangles or strips.
  3. Wrap the Pigs: Roll a biscuit strip around each hot dog or cocktail wiener, leaving a little section exposed at the front for the face.
  4. Bake: Place on the baking sheet and bake for 10–12 minutes, or until the dough is light golden brown. Let cool slightly.
  5. Add Details: Use a vegetable peeler to shave thin carrot curls and tuck them into the back as cute pig tails! Dot on eyes with squeeze mustard or use olive slices. Cut a hot dog slice into triangles, for ears. 

Electric frying pan


The possibilities are endless with this versatile kid-friendly cooker. With supervision, young children anything from stir-fry to pasta dishes to pancakes to grilled cheese sandwiches. Why not make my delicious Puppy Power Pancake Recipe below! 

🐶 Puppy Power Protein Pancakes 🐶

Fun, Healthy & Naturally Protein-Packed Breakfast

🛒 Batter Ingredients

  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup plain yogurt (or Greek yogurt for extra protein)
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup flour or protein pancake mix (see Gluten-Free options below) 
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup or honey (optional, for slight sweetness)
  • Ghee or coconut oil for the griddle

🌾 Gluten-Free Options

  • Oat Flour: Blend gluten-free certified rolled oats into a fine flour. Adds a lovely warm flavor!
  • 1-to-1 GF Baking Flour: Swap in equal amounts of a cup-for-cup gluten-free flour blend.
  • Almond Flour Blend: Use 1/2 cup almond flour + 1 extra egg for extra fluff and protein.

👩‍🍳 Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. Mix the Whiskables: In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, plain yogurt, vanilla extract, and optional maple syrup until smooth.
  2. Add Dry Ingredients: Stir in the flour, ground cinnamon, and baking powder until just combined. Let the batter rest for 2–3 minutes.
  3. Cook: Heat an electric skillet or non-stick pan over medium-low heat and grease lightly with butter or oil. Pour batter to form 1 large circle (the head) and 2 smaller mini circles (for floppy ears or snouts!).
  4. Flip: Cook until tiny bubbles form on top (about 2–3 minutes), then flip gently and cook another 1–2 minutes until golden brown.

🎨 Cute Puppy Face Decorating Ideas!

  • Floppy Ears: Place two mini pancakes or sliced banana halves/strawberry slices at the top sides of the main pancake face.
  • Snout & Nose: Place a round slice of banana in the center, topped with a single blueberry or chocolate chip for the nose.
  • Puppy Eyes: Use two blueberry "eyes" or two banana slices with raisin centers.
  • Whiskers & Mouth: Pipe a quick "W" shape under the nose using a bit of peanut butter or Greek yogurt!
  • Playful Tongue: Tuck a thin slice of strawberry peeking out under the banana snout!


Crock Pot or Slow Cooker

Here's a miracle machine for kid-safe cooking! The slow cooker is perfect for soups, stews, pasta, boiled dinner and even mac and cheese! 

🍲 Friendship Stone Soup

A "Sharing Soup" Classroom & Family Activity

Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 45–60 mins
Servings: Whole Class / Family

🪨 The Secret Base

1 Large, Smooth River Stone (Scrubbed very clean and boiled in water beforehand!)

🛒 Child Contributions & Prep Roles: Use this as a color and counting game from one to ten! 

Add to a pot with six cups of beef or chicken broth seasoned with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper. 
  • Red 1 cores and chops one red pepper
  • Brown 2: cube 2# meat (chicken, beef or pork) or if vegetarian soup preferred, slice two loaves of crusty French bread
  • Light green 3: 3 ribs of celery cleaned, peeled and sliced. 
  • Orange 4: cleans and slices 4 carrots into round "coins" with a child-safe knife)
  • Yellow 5: 5 medium yellow potatoes (scrubbed, peeled, and diced)
  • Green 6: Clean and pluck blossoms from stem of one spring each of basil, sage, thyme, rosemary, cilantro and parsley )6 ounces or 6 chopped scallions.
  • White 7: peel and mince or press 7 garlic cloves (not bulbs)
  • Purple 8: peel and mince or dice 8 ounces of purple (red) onion
  • Brown 9 : chop 9 ounces of blue (purple) cabbage.
  • Rainbow 10: Provides any colored bowls and plates to enjoy Sharing Soup! 
  • For classes with more than 10 children, additional add-ins might include: turnips, rutabaga, fresh shucked corn, shelled peas, snipped green beans, a can of beans, broccoli or cauliflower florets, green cabbage, yellow or orange peppers. You can also substitute any of these for the original ingredients, as needed. 
  • This can also be made with canned or frozen ingredients as needed.  

👩‍🍳 Step-by-Step Recipe Instructions

  1. Drop the Magic Stone: Place the clean stone in the bottom of a large slow cooker or heavy soup pot. Pour in the broth and set to HIGH (or bring to a boil on stove).
  2. Add the Aromatics: Stir in the onions and garlic, letting them simmer until the broth smells fragrant. Add half the fresh herbs. 
  3. Add Root Vegetables: Add the potato cubes, carrot coins, diced pepper and chopped celery. Cover and let cook for 20 minutes as the flavors build.
  4. Add the Final Goodness: Stir in shredded cabbage Lower heat, cover, and let simmer for another 25–30 minutes until all vegetables are tender. 
  5. For a creamy variation (optional) Remove from heat and slowly drizzle in one to two cups fresh cream or whole milk to make a creamy soup. 
  6. Season & Share: Season with salt and pepper to taste and top with remainder of fresh herbs. Remove the magic stone carefully, ladle into bowls, and enjoy the delicious feast created by everyone working together!

Games with Food


  • What vegetable am I?: Put different whole vegetables in paper bags and number each bag. Give one to each student. Students should wash hands first. Without looking, children explore fruits by touch, feel and smell. Provide students with a word and picture list of vegetables which they match with bag numbers. Then bags are passed to the next person. 

  • Fruitsploration: Give each student a bag with  various fruits in it. Students write down or share observations about their fruits. Encourage students to explore fruits by taste, touch, smell and sight. Some suggested fruits include to include in individual bags:
    • blueberries
    • blackberries
    • grapes
    • tangerine
    • peach 
    • kiwi if not allergies
 
Encourage students to use descriptive words like 
    • smooth/bumpy 
    • fuzzy/ smooth
    • seedy
    • squishy/firm
    • sour/sweet/tart
    • creative color words
  • Class taste test: (Explore larger fruits as a class by discussing, then cutting into individual pieces)
    • starfruit
    • mango
    • banana
    • coconut 
    • pomelo 
    • dragonfruit
    • pineapple
    • ugli fruit (Jamaican tangelo)
    • grapefruit
    • hand of Buddha
    • donut peaches

          Collect various apple varieties and allow students to smell and sample them. Be sure to include                color varieties. 
    • yellow delicious
    • granny smith
    • honey crisp
    • gala
    • Fuji
    • Macintosh
    • Ida Red
    • Cosmic Crisp 
         Whip up some yummy kid-friendly apple snack crafts! Here are five quick, fun, and kid-friendly apple snack crafts that work great for classroom activities or home fun:

  • Apple Donut Rings: Core a whole apple horizontally into thin rings. Have children spread a layer of cream cheese, Greek yogurt, or sunflower seed butter on top, then decorate with sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, or crushed granola to make healthy "donuts."

  • Apple Toothpick Monsters: Cut apples into wedges. Give kids child-safe plastic knives or pre-cut pieces along with wooden toothpicks, grape halves, and marshmallow bits. Children can stack and connect the pieces to build funny multi-eyed apple creatures.

  • Apple Turtle Slices: Lay a half-apple flat-side down on a plate to serve as the turtle shell. Use a green grape cut in half for the head, four whole grapes for legs, and two mini chocolate chips (or dots of yogurt) for eyes.

  • Apple Sandwich Monsters: Spread peanut butter or seed butter between two apple slices. Insert tiny marshmallow "teeth" around the front edge and tuck a strawberry slice inside to look like a sticking-out tongue.

  • Apple Star Stamps & Bites: Cut apples horizontally through the middle to reveal the natural 5-point seed star pattern in the center. Kids can examine the natural star design before topping their slice with a drizzle of honey and a dash of cinnamon.


🍎 Edible Apple Star Stamps & Bites

A Hands-On Montessori Food & Craft Activity

Prep Time: 10 mins
Craft Time: 15 mins
Age Group: Preschool & Up

⚠️ Safety First

Always check for fruit or food dye allergies before starting. Ensure adult supervision when cutting the fruit.

🛒 Ingredients & Supplies

  • Apples: 2–3 large apples (cut horizontally across the middle to reveal the natural 5-point star)
  • Edible Paint: Liquid food coloring mixed into plain Greek yogurt, white frosting, or honey
  • Stamping Surface: Rice paper sheets, tortillas, or bread slices (for edible stamping) or white paper/paper plates
  • Tools: Paper towels, small paintbrushes or shallow dipping plates, and child-safe knives
  • Toppings (Optional): Cinnamon, honey, or sprinkles for snack time

👩‍🍳 Craft & Cooking Instructions

  1. Discover the Star: Slice each apple horizontally through the center. Show children the natural seed star pattern inside!
  2. Dry the Surface: Press the exposed side of each apple slice firmly onto a paper towel to absorb excess juice so the edible dye sticks easily.
  3. Prep the Edible Dye: In shallow bowls, mix a few drops of food coloring into yogurt or frosting to create vibrant, safe "paints."
  4. Stamp Away: Have children brush or dip the apple star side into the edible dye and stamp onto tortillas, bread, or paper plates to make colorful star designs.
  5. Snack Time: Once the stamping activity is complete, rinse or trim the slices, drizzle with a bit of honey and cinnamon, and enjoy as a delicious star snack!

From the Omschool Tree Fort Library Corner

Real Cookbooks & Culinary Guides for Children

Picture Books & Cultural Stories About Food

  • Brown, Marcia. (1947). Stone Soup. Aladdin Paperbacks.

    • Notes: The classic folkloric tale demonstrating community collaboration, sharing, and making a meal together.

  • Carle, Eric. (1970). Pancakes, Pancakes!. Aladdin Paperbacks.

    • Notes: Traces the farm-to-table process of gathering eggs, milking cows, and milling wheat to make breakfast from scratch.

  • dePaola, Tomie. (1975). Strega Nona. Simon & Schuster.

    • Notes: A whimsical story about a magic pasta pot that teaches lessons about listening, following instructions, and food preparation.

  • Ehlert, Lois. (1989). Eating the Alphabet: Fruits & Vegetables from A to Z. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

    • Notes: Introduces young children to a wide variety of produce through bold illustrations, supporting vocabulary and produce identification.

  • Ehlert, Lois. (1987). Growing Vegetable Soup. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

    • Notes: Details the steps of planting seeds, tending a garden, harvesting vegetables, and boiling them into a family soup.

  • Gilmore, Dorina Lazo. (2009). Cora Cooks Pancit. Shen's Books.

    • Notes: Highlights a child taking on kitchen responsibilities while learning to cook a traditional Filipino noodle dish with her family.

  • Hoban, Russell. (1964). Bread and Jam for Frances. Harper & Row.

    • Notes: A story addressing picky eating habits, food variety, and trying new dishes.

  • Lin, Grace. (2023). Chinese Menu: The History, Myths, and Legends Behind Your Favorite Foods. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

    • Notes: Combines storytelling, food folklore, and culinary history, suited for older elementary readers.

  • Maillard, Kevin Noble. (2019). Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story. Roaring Brook Press.

    • Notes: Explores food, culture, and family sensory experiences, including a recipe and historical notes.

  • Park, Linda Sue. (2005). Bee-Bim Bop!. Clarion Books.

    • Notes: Written in rhythmic verse, depicting a child helping her mother shop, chop ingredients, cook, and set the table for a traditional Korean dish.

  • Soto, Gary. (1993). Too Many Tamales. Putnam Juvenile.

    • Notes: Center stage on family holiday cooking traditions and teamwork in the kitchen.

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STEAM lesson plans: bushcraft activities, building forts and habitat dioramas


 Hello my Omschooligans! Today in the Omschool Tree Fort, Teacher Omi is exploring bushcraft and building forts as STEAM lesson plans. This are classroom and homeschool friendly forts modeled after the big wilderness bushcraft structures as seen on Youtube. We'll use found objects in nature, recycled materials and building blocks to create personal forts. 



The Tao of the Fort

The term fort comes from fortress, or fortified structure to protect from invaders. A fort represents a personal "safe space" or even a sanctuary. Children of all ages love building forts as well they should. There are so many value-added STEAM lessons in fort building. And the best ones are made of found and recycled materials. The best teachers of bushcraft are animals who make dwellings from items in their local habitat. Native and indigenous peoples have replicated those structures and concepts in their homes, such as Pacific northwest igloos, woodland longhouses and plains tipis. They don't strip the land of resources, they work within their locality, symbiotically. 

Work within an LRE (least restrictive environment)

The first concern with any outdoor structure must be safety. While the big bushcraft forts look really cool, kids must understand that building them comes with many risks. So if you allow playground or backyard forts you must do your homework. Insect bites, poison ivy (oak, sumac) allergies, especially anaphylaxis, hay fever and asthma are health concerns for any outdoor play. But for the most part, children can and should interact in nature in the least restrictive environment possible. AKA, allow for as much free play as they can safely handle. 

Safety first, last and always

Bushcraft and fort building requires preparation in four areas. Use a 4S model: students, site, safety and supervision. Here are some simple precautions for outdoor fort building. 

Student Prep: Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

  • Wear long sleeves and full-length pants: Protects skin from scratches, insect bites, poison ivy, oak, sumac, and brush.

  • Sturdy, closed-toe shoes or boots: Prevents puncture wounds from thorns or hidden debris and provides traction on uneven ground.

  • Work gloves: Shield hands from splinters, sharp bark, and hidden thorns when handling deadwood.

  • Safety glasses: Eye wear is important to protect against injuries from protruding branches, dust and allergens. 

  • Hard hat or bike helmet:  If you're building a larger structure, a helmet protects from falling objects. It's not a bad idea to wear in the woods anyway, especially if it's windy. 

Site Prep: Selection & Environment

  • Scan overhead: Avoid building beneath dead tree branches ("widowmakers") or leaning trunks that could fall.

  • Inspect the ground: Check for hornets' nests, animal burrows, ant hills, and hazardous plants like poison ivy or stinging nettles.

  • Avoid low-lying hazards: Keep away from steep embankments, unstable soil, stagnant water, or active runoff paths.

Structural Safety & Handling Materials

  • Use fallen wood only: Never cut or pull down living branches or unstable standing deadwood.

  • Test stability: Check every main support beam before building upward. Frame structures securely using natural tripod/A-frame shapes or lashings rather than heavy, unsecured overhead logs.

  • Limit height and weight: Keep the structure low enough that a collapse won't cause serious injury, avoiding overly heavy rocks or logs overhead.

Tools & Supervision

  • Clear tool rules: If using hand saws or pocket knives, enforce strict supervision and establishing clear working distances between kids.

  • Designated adult: the supervisor doesn't need to and shouldn't "direct" the students in fort building. The role is more Montessori-based shepherd. The adult facilitates by lending assistance where needed and keeping a watchful eye. 

  • Buddy system: Ensure children always build in pairs or groups, with a designated adult aware of the exact build site.


Playground and backyard forts

You can begin to foster fort building skills by providing opportunities on playgrounds with access to woodland materials. Encourage students to utilize found discarded materials such as dead leaves, pine cones, acorns, seed pods, fallen branches, shells, evergreen needles, clay, bird feathers, strips of bark, brush, dry grasses, rocks and sticks. 

Be mindful of neighbors

By this I mean that children must be taught that any forts they make should not make others homeless. Students need to take "the locals" into consideration. Not all found materials are necessarily discarded. If it's growing, living or has roots, that's not found. That's a habitat. Explain that flowers, moss, grass and plants that are still attached are still alive. Even stripping bark from trees is unkind to nature. Trees need their bark for protection, just like we need skin. So only dried or "scrap" materials should be used. Moss in particular has an interesting double duty function providing soil protection and housing to insects. 

Moss "picking" Ecosystem Impact

  • Slow Regrowth: Moss grows extremely slowly, often taking years or even decades to establish a carpet in a shaded or damp area. Harvesting it leaves bare patches that take a very long time to recover.

  • Soil Protection & Moisture Control: Moss acts like a natural sponge, holding moisture in the soil, preventing erosion, and creating micro-habitats for beneficial insects, micro-fauna, and seedlings. Removing it disrupts the soil food web and exposes the ground to drying out and washing away.

  • Habitat Destruction: Many tiny invertebrates rely on moss mats for shelter and reproduction. Pulling up moss strips away their homes.


🌿

How to be a Moss Warrior

Replanted Moss: Instead of harvesting wild moss, kids can gather tiny fallen moss patches that have already been displaced (e.g., washed off a roof or kicked onto a gravel path) and press them back onto moist soil nearby.

Designing your fort

You can draw a design of what you'd like your fort to look like but the best building plan is from the ground up. I like to start by collecting found materials and then considering how to utilize them in my structure. The basic tipi pattern usually works best if you are making it from fallen branches. If you have the ability to leave your structure up, you can work away at it when you have the chance. If it falls down, start over. That's how real life works. When something breaks, you fix it! This is good experiences in practical life skills. 


🏺

How to Make Mud & Straw "Adobe"

Indigenous builders across the globe have used this simple mix to build strong, natural structures. Kids can mix their own mini adobe for fort-building or small eco-crafts!

Ingredients & Materials:
  • Clay-rich Soil: Provides the sticky binder.
  • Water: To activate the clay and soften the mixture.
  • Dried Grasses or Pine Needles: Acts as natural fiber reinforcement (prevents cracking as it dries).
  • A Mixing Bucket or Shallow Basin
Step-by-Step Directions:
  1. Dig & Sift: Collect clay soil and remove large stones, sticks, or root clumps.
  2. Add Water Slowly: Mix the clay soil with water until it reaches a thick, dough-like consistency (thick enough to hold its shape).
  3. Work in the Fibers: Knead in handfuls of dried grass or pine needles. The fibers should crisscross through the mud like tiny steel rebar.
  4. Shape & Build: Press the mud mix into small brick molds or press it directly between fort sticks as natural mortar.
  5. Sun Dry: Let your adobe creations dry in full sunlight for a day or two until rock-hard!

Building model fort dioramas




Not everyone has access to a woods full of bracken with with to make forts. But you can still make model fort dioramas in your classroom, using your recycle bin. Or you can collect leaves, sticks and rocks and make collage forts. Teachers, make this into animal science lesson plans by having students create shoebox habitat dioramas. Or, help students make adobe using the recipe above. Or just use playdough. Then they can mold it into hut or cave shapes. Demonstrate how native people use small branches to support the structure and then cover with a water resistant weatherproofing like animal pelts or pine sap. To simulate, students might make a glue "gouache" by watering down liquid glue then painting it over their structures. 

Resources for making habitat dioramas


  • Life-size animal habitat dioramas: A complete unit of science lesson plans, printables, literature based connections, craft projects, play with costumes and props. 
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Preschool Math unit on shapes with homemade snack crafts, games, printables and book connections


Hello my Omschooligans! Teacher Omi, of the Omschool, here with a back-to-school preschool math unit on shapes you're going to love. These math activities features hands-on lesson plans, including geometry themed homemade snack craft projects, games, printables and book connections.  Here's a basic printable math shapes chart. 



Preschool shape math games and printables 

  • Shape Up Match Game: Print the chart above to hang in your classroom. Omi has one in the Omschool Tree Fort! Next, use this free printable game, one per student and have them cut out the shape word cards. This make the game do double duty as a math craft to practice fine motor and scissors skills. Or make one, laminate it and use for math learning center tasks. 



  • Shape-O: Play this like Bingo by calling out different shapes and have students place tokens on the appropriate objects with that shape. 
  • Shape sorting game: Print blank bingo cards and assign students the task of drawing different basic shape objects in each of the squares. They might also cut pictures from magazine or use the shape sorting cards and glue them under the appropriate shape word. 



  • Shape Scavenger hunt: Give students a list of shapes have them search the classroom (tree fort!) playground or backyard for items of the shape: 
  • Shape Up Yoga: provide yoga mats and have children bend their bodies to represent different shapes. 

Shapes snack craft projects

  • Watermelon wedges and half slices (triangle and semi-circle)
  • Cantaloupe and honey dew melon balls 
  • Sailboat sandwiches (favorite sandwiches cut in four triangles)
  • Cheese and pepperoni crackers (cheese cut into different shapes) 
  • Cheese cubes, grape tomatoes and triangle cut cucumbers on toothpicks


Books about shapes from the Omschool Tree Fort Story Corner 

  • Ehlert, Lois. Color Zoo. HarperCollins, 1989.

    • Uses layered die-cut pages featuring basic geometric shapes (circles, squares, triangles) to form dynamic animal faces.

  • Walsh, Ellen Stoll. Mouse Shapes. Harcourt, Inc., 2007.

    • Features three clever mice who build houses, trees, and a cat out of colorful cut-paper shapes to escape a predator.

  • Dodds, Dayle Ann. The Shape of Things. Illustrated by Julie Lacome. Candlewick Press, 1994.

    • Shows how individual shapes come together to construct everyday scenes like houses, boats, and train cars through rhyming verse.

  • MacDonald, Suse. Shape by Shape. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2007.

    • Uses die-cut cutouts of various shapes on each page turn to gradually reveal a dinosaur.

  • Hall, Michael. Perfect Square. Greenwillow Books, 2011.

    • Demonstrates creativity and resilience by showing how a single square can be torn, cut, or shredded to transform into entirely new, beautiful structures.

Real-World & Environmental Shape Recognition

  • Hoban, Tana. Shapes, Shapes, Shapes. Greenwillow Books, 1986.

    • A classic wordless photo-essay that challenges children to discover hidden shapes within everyday urban and rural environments.

  • Murray, Diana. City Shapes. Illustrated by Bryan Collier. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2016.

    • Explores geometry through a young girl's bustling city walk, highlighting skyscrapers, kites, and sidewalk tiles.

  • Thong, Roseanne Greenfield. Round Is a Tortilla: A Book of Shapes. Illustrated by John Parra. Chronicle Books, 2013.

    • Teaches shape recognition through cultural items and foods like tortillas, sombreros, and paletas.

  • Sidman, Joyce. Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature. Illustrated by Beth Krommes. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011.

    • Focuses on the unique prevalence and beauty of spiral shapes found throughout the natural world.

Interactive & Humor-Driven Books

  • Burns, Marilyn. The Greedy Triangle. Illustrated by Gordon Silveria. Scholastic, 1994.

    • Introduces geometry concepts as a dissatisfied triangle keeps visiting a shape-shifter to add more sides and angles.

  • Hopgood, Tim. Walter's Wonderful Web. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2015.

    • Follows a determined spider attempting to build webs out of sturdy triangles, squares, and rectangles to withstand the wind.

  • Bingham, Kelly. Circle, Square, Moose. Illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky. Greenwillow Books, 2014.

    • A humorous meta-narrative where an disruptive moose continually interrupts a standard presentation on shapes.

3D Shapes & Advanced Concepts

  • Murphy, Stuart J. Captain Invincible and the Space Shapes. Illustrated by Damon Mitchell. HarperCollins, 2001.

  • Hoban, Tana. Cubes, Cones, Cylinders, & Spheres. Greenwillow Books, 2000.

    • A full-color photograph collection showcasing three-dimensional objects in real-world settings.

Reinforce lesson plans by having students sit arranged in various shapes for story time! 

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Back-to-School Party with snack crafts, craft projects, games, homemade school supplies and printables




Hello my Omschooligans! Teacher Omi is back with more fun activities and lesson plans from the Omschool Tree Fort! Since we're heading back to school soon I thought I'd throw us a back-to-school party with games, snack crafts, craft projects and of course, children's literature connections! These free printable lesson plans are available for non-profit and homeschool use and may be shared with proper attribution. 

Back-to-School themed snack crafts

You know that we in the Omschool Tree Fort love multipurpose educational activities that address several learning objectives (and are fun, must have fun!). So we make edible crafts that are fun to make and eat! They also help us develop food prep, fine motor, kitchen science and following directions skills! Today's craft treats feature school supplies themes. 

Pretzel Pencils: Use the picture above to create these pencil snack crafts! You'll need

  • pretzel rods 
  • cream cheese, almond or peanut butter or spray cheese (in the can)
    • color a bit of cream cheese brown with dark cocoa powder for pencil tips
    • or use dark chocolate frosting (see healthier frosting recipe below)
    • or use black decorator icing
  • pink marshmallows or pieces of watermelon (for the eraser)
  • carrot tips (you can "sharpen" these in a vegetable spiralizer.
  • cheese slices (optional) 
  • plastic knives 
Directions: Set out supplies assembly line style or give each student a plate with all she'll need to make one pencil. Attach marshmallow eraser and carrot tip with nut butter, cream cheese or spray cheese. Cut a 1-inch strip of cheese slice and wrap around pretzel to resemble gold band. Save the rest of the cheese for your next snack craft! You can also use a cheese chunk as shown or use the spray cheese. (Thank you grandson Milo for reminding Omi of this versatile snack food!) Dip tip in black icing or colored cream cheese. 

Book Sandwiches

What better snack to enjoy in the reading corner than a book sandwich? They're so easy to create, too! 
  1. Make your favorite kind of sandwich using square or rectangular bread (like Pepperidge Farm): tuna or egg salad, PBJ, cheese and pickle, you choose! 
  2. "Frost" the top of your sandwich with any color cream cheese (see tips below for natural coloring dyes) or homemade frosting (for sweet sandwiches). Keep reading for a healthier low sugar frosting recipe. 
  3. Frost with yogurt if you prefer. 
  4. Place some cream cheese or frosting in a decorator bag and write your book title across the top. Or use Milo's spray cheese idea. Use a known book title or create your own! 
  5. You can also use letter pretzels or cereal for shorter titles. 
  6. Tuck a strip from your cheese slice in as a bookmark. Or use a Fruit Roll-up. 
  7. Decorate cover with fruit or veggie pieces cut like hearts, stars, etc. 

Fruit and Veggie Markers and Crayons

What could be better than coloring with crayons? Coloring with edible crayon that's what! Use different sized vegetable corers to create a rainbow of markers you can eat, using fruits and vegetables. Cut tube shapes from pineapple, watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew. Cut and de-string celery into skinny sticks. Use skinny mini cucumbers, rainbow carrots and carrot sticks just as they are. Cut pepper strips to resemble crayons. Serve in pencil cases which can be reused for real markers and crayons, later. Children will enjoy cutting the fruit and vegetables. 

Alphabet snack crafts


  • Alphabet Mak-sheesh: That's what my granddaughter called mac and cheese. So for back-to-school, we'll cook up some letter pasta and make yummy macaroni and cheese. Here's Omi's recipe. 
    • Cook one box letter pasta till al dente (tender but not falling apart). While it's cooking...
    • Make cheese roux:
      • melt one stick salted butter over low heat
      • add 8 oz cream cheese cubes or blended cottage cheese and melt
      • add 1-2 c. sharp cheddar and melt
      • season with garlic, black pepper and celery salt
      • slowly add milk you've allowed to warm to room temp (use as much as it takes to get roux to thick, creamy consistency.
    • Drain pasta and pour roux over pasta. 
    • Gently stir and add a little grated parmesan cheese. 

  • Alpha-Veggie Soup: A classic favorite, kids will love prepping this! 
    • Cut carrots, red onions, celery and yellow peppers into bite-sized pieces. 
    • Shred purple cabbage to make one cup. 
    • Sauté in butter with poultry seasoning or umami seasoning. 
    • Add chicken broth (without MSG) to make about six cups. 
    • Cook pasta in this mixture, slowly. 
    • Snip cilantro, parsley and basil and top soup with these. 

  • Alphabet pasta salad: 
    • Cook pasta, drain and rinse. 
    • Add chunk imitation crab meat or canned chicken or tuna.
    • Halve grape tomatoes. 
    • Cut yellow and orange bell peppers into pieces. 
    • Blend with mayonnaise and Dijon mustard to taste. 
    • Season with black pepper and dill weed. 

      🌈 Rainbow Edible Playdough

      Safe, taste-tested fun naturally colored with kitchen ingredients!

      Base Dough Ingredients

      • 1 cup creamy peanut butter (or sunflower seed butter for a nut-free option)
      • ½ cup honey or agave syrup
      • 2 cups powdered milk (or oat flour/ground rolled oats)

      Natural Color Tinting Options

      • Red / Pink: 1–2 tsp beet root powder or concentrated berry juice
      • Orange: 1 tsp carrot powder or carrot juice reduction
      • Yellow: ½ tsp ground turmeric
      • Green: 1 tsp spirulina powder or matcha powder
      • Brown: 1 tbsp unsweetened dark cocoa powder

      Instructions

      1. In a large bowl, mix the butter/nut butter and honey together until smooth.
      2. Gradually add the powdered milk or oat flour, kneading with clean hands until a soft, non-sticky dough forms. If too sticky, add a bit more powdered milk; if too dry, add a drop of honey.
      3. Divide the dough into smaller balls for coloring.
      4. Knead your chosen natural color ingredient into each dough ball until the shade is evenly distributed.
      5. Shape, play, and snack! Store unused dough in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.


Honey Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

  • 8 oz cream cheese, softened

  • 4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

  • 3 tbsp raw honey (adjust to taste)

  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

  • Pinch of fine sea salt

Instructions

  1. Beat the Base: In a medium bowl, beat the softened cream cheese and butter with a hand mixer or stand mixer on medium-high speed until completely smooth and fluffy (about 2 minutes).

  2. Blend Sweetener & Flavor: Add the honey, vanilla extract, and pinch of salt. Beat on medium speed for another 1–2 minutes until fully incorporated and creamy.

  3. Chill & Set: For best piping or spreading consistency, cover and chill in the refrigerator for 20–30 minutes before using.

Tips & Variations

  • Flavor Boost: Add 1/2 tsp of cinnamon or lemon zest for extra warm or bright flavor notes.

  • Frosting coloring tips: "Dye" frosting with beet or berry juice, spirulina or spinach powder, dark cocoa powder             

  • Storage: Store frosted baked goods or leftover frosting in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

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