Ants on a Log?

You know the classic ants on a log recipe. Well, here are 3 new takes on the old classic snack. We hope you enjoy these treats, and while you’re at it, pair them with a book featuring the animal main character from the snack you choose! We off a few suggestions below, and this page does include affiliate links.

For each version of this snack, we have a few speech sounds you can target. Remember, make it fun and don’t stress too much about drilling! You can also tell your own story about the animals on your snack of choice and wherever it is they are adventuring. Story creation and story retells are fantastic ways to practice speech and language skills. Stay tuned for more book-based recipes to bring to your next speech session or practice time at home.

Main Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of celery (or pre-cut celery sticks available at places like Costco)

• 1 container of cream cheese OR peanut butter, depending on the variation you choose

• Supplies: Knife, Spoons, Bowl, Plates

The Variations

• Fish in the River

  • Ingredients: Blueberry Cream Cheese OR Regular and you can add fresh or frozen blueberries to it and stir, fish-shaped crackers

  • Cut your celery into 4in sections, after washing and removing the ends, and lay out on a plate. 4-inch sections seem to do well for snacking.

  • Smear your blueberry cream cheese into the hollow center of the celery, press around 5 fish-shaped crackers into the top of the cream cheese so they are still showing.

  • Look at your little fish swimming in the river, and then eat and enjoy!

  • Sound targets: /f/, /r/, s-blends e.g., fish, river, swimming, stream

  • Book Pairing: The Pout-Pout Fish, or any other picture book about a fish! (Check out some of our seaside stories or other picture book lists for inspiration)

• Fire Ants in Texas

  • Ingredients: Regular Cream Cheese OR Peanut Butter (whichever you prefer), dried cranberries

  • Cut your celery into 4in sections, after washing and removing the ends, and lay out on a plate. 4-inch sections seem to do well for snacking.

  • Smear your cream cheese or peanut butter into the hollow center of the celery, place your cranberries all over the top of the cream cheese, where they are still visible. I suggest making between 1 to 3 little “ant hills” or cranberries in small piles, just like fire ants do. :)

  • Look at your silly creation, and then eat and enjoy!

  • Sound targets: /f/, /t/, /p/ e.g., fire, Texas, ant, top, pile

  • Book Pairing: Do Fire Ants Fight Fires or Hello, Texas, or any other book about ants or Texas!

• Bunnies in the Burrow

  • Ingredients: Peanut Butter (whichever you prefer), bunny-shaped crackers or bunny-shaped graham crackers, crumbled chocolate cookie (optional)

  • Cut your celery into 4in sections, after washing and removing the ends, and lay out on a plate. 4-inch sections seem to do well for snacking.

  • Smear your peanut butter into the hollow center of the celery, place your bunny-shaped cracker of choice on the top so they are still visible, but push them in a bit like they are going into their burrows. You can even use a crumbled up chocolate cookie sprinkled on top of the peanut butter in little circles as an outline for the burrows.

  • Look at your little bunnies headed for their burrows, and then eat and enjoy!

  • Sound targets: /b/, /k/, /p/ e.g., bunnies, hop, burrow, cookie, cracker, jump

  • Book Pairing: The Runaway Bunny or any other book about bunnies, you can look at our spring book list for more inspiration.

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