Row, Row, Row Your Banana Boat

Make a banana boat, add oars and maybe a sail, then let your imagination take you anywhere. Teach your child to learn to love new foods through play! Use a slice of avocado, half an apple, or bell pepper, part of a banana or any other food you can imagine as a boat.  Use a spoon or your fingers to carve out your boat, if it's not naturally a boat shape. Add a mast and sail if you want a sailboat. Add oars for a rowboat.Then make a river, lake, or ocean with yogurt (or any other puree you have (hummus, cheese dip, peanut butter, Nutella etc...). Show your child how you can spread the water around with your fingers. (Tip: have a wet towel handy so  a picky eater who doesn't like to get their hands dirty can wipe them off and continue with the activity rather than needing to get up to wash their hands).  If your child really doesn't want to touch it, let them use a spoon. You can also use dried blueberries for the water, or anything else for that matter. The activity is about pretending, so get creative!Put a sailor in the boat and pretend you're going to an island, to a friend's house or anywhere else your child wants to go. Make up a story as you go. It can be a familiar story of a trip you took as a family, a voyage in a favorite movie or something completely new and made up.Add A Song:Sing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat," "Michael Row Your Boat Ashore" or any other 'boating' song. You can also make up lyrics about what you're doing to the tune of any familiar song.Have fun! Happy food play!