How To Make A Delicious Tree & Build Fine Motor Skills
I am sure that many of your homes have a beautifully decorated Christmas tree sitting in your living room. While it sets a festive mood and is delightful to look at, here is an edible and delectable way to make a Christmas tree in your kitchen.
Here’s what you will need to make this tasty treat:
Sugar cones
Cupcakes
Vanilla frosting
Green food coloring
Red or green decorative sugar or sprinkles
M&M’s
Gum drops
To work on pressure modulation and fine motor coordination, have your child squeeze several drops of green food coloring into the white frosting. Mix it in to strengthen hand muscles and bilateral coordination.
Using a silicone spatula (or other handy kitchen utensil), have your child spread the frosting over an upside-down sugar cone and a cupcake. This, too, is a great way to work on pressure modulation because your child will need to exert just the right amount of pressure to keep the cone from cracking.
To further work on fine motor coordination, have your child use his/her “circle fingers” (thumb and index fingers) to decorate the tree with colored sugar and or strawberry pickers, zoo sticks or plastic tweezers to artfully place M&M’s.
Turn the cone upside down onto a cupcake. Place a gum drop at the top to be the celebratory ornament.
Let the tree do double duty. Once complete, have this stunning and scrumptious treat serve as a centerpiece, decorative place settings, or an individualized dessert for the children!
Blog written by Aviva Goldwasser, MS, OTR/L