Corn A'Plenty

It is my turn to teach Buddy's preschool class this month and today we were in charge of the letter "I".  Hmmm... what on earth could we possibly make or do that ties "I" in with Thanksgiving?

INDIAN CORN!

 I knew that those corn on the cob holders that we got for our wedding 10 years ago would some day come in handy.  I think that this may truly be the first itme they were used.

The day before buddy helped me measure all the ingredients to make the snacks.  We used the generic brand of Trix cereal and picked out all the yellow, red, and orange ones and threw in just a few purple and blue ones for a little color variation.

 They're a hit with the 3-year old crowd!

 But even the older kids think they're pretty cool.

 And while we're SNAFTING (snack crafting... that's right I just made up a new word, feel free to use it... just send a trademark payment of $50 post marked to me)... let's throw in a craft.  Gather up these supplies:  multi-colored pony beads (I like the see-through kind), yellow card stock, left over corn stalks, and some raffia.  You will also need some glue.

 Cut a corn cob shape out of the yellow cardstock, leaving a long stem.  Spread glue all over the corn cob.

 Let the kids place beads all over the surface of the corn cob.

 If you are too poor or too lazy to go get pony beads, just use your leftover cereal from the SNAFT.  Punch a hole in the stem of your corn cob and tie a piece of raffia.  Leave enough room that the finished indian corn can be hung from a door knob.

Glue on some leftover cornstock around the stem and hang your beautiful decoration!

And now, the recipe for the Indian corn on the cobbers.

INDIAN CORN SNACKS

4 tablespoons of butter

4 cups of mini marshmallows

5 cups of colored ball shaped cereal (I used a generic trix and sorted out the yellow, red, and orange)

Fruit Leather (we so happened to find green fruit roll-ups, thank you Shrek!)

Popsicle sticks

In a large pot, melt butter and mini marshmallows over low heat (about 5 minutes).

Remove the mixture from the stove and use a wooden spoon to stir in cereal. Allow the mixture to cool for about 10 minutes.

Using buttered hands, shape each treat by pressing 1/3 cup of the mixture around a Popsicle stick. Add fruit leather husks to the bottom of the ear, slightly moistening them to help them stick if needed. Makes 15 treats.

*This recipe was inspired by this post on Disney's Family Fun website, however they made theirs with puffed corn cereal (Kix or Corn Pops) and mixed the cereal with diced dried fruit.  I didn't think my kids would eat the dried fruits that they used, so I made mine this way.  But theirs look totally cute also.  They also had a really cool indian corn cookie that I just noticed today.  You can check it out here!