Welcome to Wee Wellness Virtual Program brought to you by the Livingston Food Resource Center and MontanaPBS! This 3 week virtual program teaches social/emotional skills, along with child engagement in cooking (motor skills) health/safety tips and nutrition. The program is intended to build these skills through art activities and cooking simple, inexpensive, tasty, and healthy snacks and meals. The recipes will allow you to interact with your child by creating homemade foods together. This experience may also get your child eager to prepare some household meals!

We need to encourage children to talk about their feelings. Being able to use words to describe what they are feeling and their needs gives children power over their feelings. Giving words to feelings can make them become a lot less overwhelming or upsetting or scary. The videos, activities, and cooking together are all to help the children in your care learn to use their words to express how they are feeling and what they need. 

In this video we talk about some basic skills, how to use your words to ask for help and make GRRRRanola. Watch the video with you child and follow the recipe to make GRRRRRanola Together. Practice washing hands with your child and talk about using your words to stay safe in the kitchen Practice measuring, dumping, mixing with your child, let them get their hands dirty! See handout on how to adapt the recipe to your child's age.

Tools:

• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• One mixing bowl
• One mixing spoon
• Baking sheet
• Parchment paper

Ingredients:

• 4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 cup fruit + nut mix
• 3/4 teaspoon table salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup honey (sub for maple syrup)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup raisins
• Optional: yogurt and banana for a parfait!

Download the full PDF of tools, ingredients and directions by clicking on the recipe PDF link below!

Use Your Words Activity

Materials and Resources 

• GRRRRanola Recipe
• Hand Washing & Safety
• Cooking Skills by Age
• "Use Your Words" Puppet Activity 
• Parent Confirmation Letter

Disappointments are part of everyone’s life. Through the activity, cooking, communicating and reflecting, you can use video clips from DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD to help children learn to recognize this feeling, give it a name, and rehearse some ways to handle the disappointments in their lives. 

This program is intended to build these skills through art activities and cooking simple, inexpensive, tasty, and healthy snacks/meals. Week 2 Recipe & skill features: Cookie Cutter Pizza and safe little chef knife skills. The recipes will allow you to interact with your child by creating homemade foods together.

Materials: 

• 2-Paper Plate
• 4-Popsicle Sticks
• Masking Tape
• Emotions Face Chart, or use a mirror or a family member to show emotional expressions
• Imagination!

Instructions: 

1. Cut each paper plate in half.
2. Using the Emotional Face Chart, your own image, or the image of a family member draw the nose, and mouth of the emotion you picked.
3. Flip the same paper plate over.
4. Draw the opposite emotion of the first emotion you drew. In the example the emotion on one side is “scared”. 
5. Using one Popsicle stick for each mask, tape it on to the bottom to use as a handle.
6. You are now ready to use your imagination and create a play, skit, story, or conversation about how to have a feeling and find a way to turn it around!

Download the full PDF of directions by clicking on the PDF link below!

• Face Mask Instructions PDF
• Cookie Cutter Pizza Recipe PDF
• Cooking Skills by Age
• Parent Confirmation Letter

Cooking with Rosie + Max Activity

Trying new things can be worrisome or intimidating. Through this activity and video clips from DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD, you'll help children learn how to try something new! 

This program is intended to build these skills through art activities and cooking simple, inexpensive, tasty, and healthy snacks/meals. Week 3 skill features:  a worry stone activity to help work through big feelings!

Materials:

• Clay
• Markers

Instructions:

• Roll the clay into a ball or shape of your choice
• Bake in the oven at 230 F for for 30 minutes (or follow the instructions on the baking clay you've selected)
• Let the stone cool
• Decorate with markers!
• Chat about how to use the worry stone to work through big feelings

• Download the activity instructions
• Expressing Feelings with Kids
• Helping Preschoolers Cope with Separation Anxiety
• Overcoming Fears with Pretend Play

Thank you to our partner, the Livingston Food Resource Center!