Patriotic Fruity Flag

If you need a healthy, fun snack for Memorial Day, Flag Day, or Independence Day, this is perfect.

To make this flag, you need:

• blueberries
• banana slices
• chunks of watermelon
• skewers

Simply skewer the fruit to look like a flag.  It doesn't get much easier.

Check out I Pledge Allegiance by Bill Martin Jr. and Michael Sampson and illustrated by Chris Raschka.  This is the best book I have ever seen to help kids understand the pledge of allegiance.

Chango Bars

My son's second grade class recently read Jalapeno Bagels by Natasha  Wing.

Pablo, the main character, has to bring something in to school for International Day, but he can't decide what to bring.  His parents own a Mexican-Jewish bakery and he considers some of the Mexican treats and some of the Jewish treats.  In the end, he decides to bring jalapeno bagels because they are the perfect combination of two cultures, just like him.  The story is based on a real bakery in Arcata, California - Los Bagels; you can order jalapeno bagels from their website and try them for yourself.

One of the Mexican treats mentioned in the book is chango bars (a chocolate chip cookie bar), and there is a recipe in the book too.  I made a batch for C to share with his class and they were a big hit.  Click here to visit Natasha Wing's blog where you can find the recipe.  There is also a recipe for jalapeno bagels in the book; I think they sound delicious, but I have never tried making bagels at home.

We highly recommend the chango bars; make some today for an easy, sweet Cinco de Mayo treat!