Hi lovely Forest Friends Families,

Today, I’d like to share with you a wholesome, low-sugar family granola recipe that I loved helping my mom make when I was a child. I thought granola would be an ideal recipe to share as many of the ingredients are likely to already reside in your pantry! Further, the measurements of each ingredient do not have to be exact to make an ultra-yummy, ultra-crunchy creation. Preparing this granola with your children will provide them a real-life application of math skills for their cognitive development.
Encourage them to do as many of the measurements with you as possible, i.e., have them count up to 4 with you for 4 cups of rolled oats. In addition, you can introduce new vocabulary with math terms such as “full,” “empty,” “half,” “more,” or “less” for the more precise measurements. Overtime, children can begin to understand the concepts of equations and fractions.
If you don’t have pepitas, you can use any seed, such as pumpkin seeds. Maple syrup can be substituted with honey or agave. Canola oil can be substituted with coconut oil or olive oil. Have at it and don’t worry too much about being exact!
Last but not least, all this talk on granola crunch has got me thinking about munching down on food in general. And since the Forest Friends team explored a lot of animal topics, I was excited to find in my home The Wide-Mouthed Frog. It’s a book about different animals’ favorite foods and all their munching. Enjoy!
All the best wishes from my heart,
Teacher Sarah