With the baseball season in “full swing,” (sorry but the puns will be plentiful in this post!) I was inspired to create a treat that was reminiscent of America’s favorite past time. I researched several different versions of crackerjacks on recipe websites. I thought some contained way too much sugar, others overdid it with butter. After “striking out” with several versions, this recipe seemed “scored some points” for having a conservative balance of sugar and butter without overdoing it. I don’t think my family will ever go back to a box of cracker jacks at the ballpark again….I may just try to sneak in this homemade concoction instead! To go along with my baseball-themed treat, I created a baseball game that was versatile enough to use with both my language and speech kiddos. And I found a baseball field/whiteboard app on my iPad to help us keep track of our game…the kids loved watching their game come to life with this simplistic visual. I used a tissue box to create a “batter’s box” which contained all our playing cards…and it was an opportunity to explain another baseball term to the kids who didn’t know what a real batter’s box was. This is a great snack for families to make at home or for SLP’s to make and bring in to school to share with students (please be sure to check for peanut allergies—omit peanuts if this presents an issue). This treat and game activity are sure to “hit a home run” with your little sluggers—so let’s play ball!!
HOMEMADE PEANUTS AND CRACKERJACKS
These are the ingredients you will need:8 cups popped popcorn, 1 cup peanuts (optional), 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup butter, 3 tablespoons corn syrup, 1/4 teaspoon each salt & baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
In a 2 quart saucepan combine the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, and salt over low heat. After the butter melts, cook without stirring for 3 minutes. It should be bubbling gently during the 3 minutes.
Stir in the baking soda and vanilla.
Arrange the popcorn (and peanuts, if you are using them) in a well-greased 9″ by 13″ pan. Quickly pour the mixture over the pan of popcorn. Mix gently to coat the popcorn evenly. You won’t get all of it coated, but once it is in the oven you can check it every 5 minutes and mix it with your spatula and make sure all the popcorn is coated.
Bake the pan at 300 degrees for about 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven, then using your spatula, quickly remove the caramel corn. Break into pieces and enjoy—store in an airtight container any uneaten portion.
(recipe website credit: Mommy’s Kitchen)
Here’s a fun way to incorporate the baseball theme into your articulation and language lessons. I created these cards using my new favorite iPad app—Custom Boards by Smarty Ears!! Grab your baseball game cards here.
This game can be played with two or more students. If you have an individual student session, you can form a teacher vs. student game. Use a tissue box to make a “batter’s box” to hold your game cards.
Your students can reach in to pull out a card. Cards will indicate what action to take on the playing field (ball, strike, single, double, triple, home run, walk, steal a base). I used this game with an articulation group working on sounds at the sentence level. After they practiced their sentence, they could draw a card from the batter’s box. The game would work the same way for addressing vocabulary building (antonyms, synonyms, etc.), answering comprehension questions, or any other language goal.
Check out this free iTunes app iPlaybookPlay for keeping track of your baseball game on your iPad or iPod touch.
You can also print out the diagram here:
….or use a whiteboard to draw your own diagram:
“Speechsnacks” loves feedback…..if you enjoyed the recipe and game in this post, tell me about it by responding in the comments box or dropping me an email at rokesting@verizon.net ….and sign up for my newsletter to receive more great recipes and therapy ideas in your inbox!!
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