Frozen Yogurt Drops--Yum!

Frozen yogurt drops are a great alternative to processed foods like Cheerios (though I do love Cheerios) for working on a pincer grasp and they're nutritious, soothing treats to offer when babies are teething.Because yogurt drops start solid, kids working on chewing can practice biting a piece off with their front teeth and chew a few times, practicing moving the piece from one side of their mouth to the other before the drops melt. I also love these for kids who need thickened liquids and can't have ice cream (because it melts to a thin liquid). These drops melt to the consistency of the yogurt you use, so if you use yogurt your child can eat from the fridge, they can have this home-made frozen treat!Language:Frozen yogurt drops are the perfect small, circle shape to take a bite and 'make a moon'. We talked about coming up with fun phrases around food and food-play in the 'make the stars shine' activity and 'make a moon' is one of my favorite food-play phrases. Both of these phrases ('make the stars shine' and 'make a moon') start with 'make' which is part of their magic. We are inviting kids to make something instead of telling them to 'eat it'.Senses:If a hesitant eater isn't ready to take a bite, these home-made yogurt drops are soft enough to make teeth marks in them without breaking. This can help kids get used to the feeling of putting something cold between their teeth and gives visual reinforcement. Get excited with them when they see their teeth marks. Count their teeth. Those look like some strong alligator teeth, did you make those all by yourself? Let me see that again! Get silly and have fun!Get kids involved in making the yogurt bites (click for very simple step-by-step instructions) and make it a cooking (or freezing) activity. Kids can scoop the yogurt into the plastic baggie then help squeeze out dots onto the wax paper.Sing a song like this one to the tune of "I like to eat, eat, eat":"I like to dot, dot, dot, dot my yogurt. I like to dot, dot, dot, dot my yogurt. I like to dot, dot, dot, dot my yogurt. Until my plate is full!"Enjoy! Happy food-play!