When the kids come piling in the door from school pure chaos breaks out! Bags, shoes, jackets, water bottles, papers, & more spread across my home like wildfire. And while the tornado is in full effect I begin to hear moans of starvation from my children who just won’t make it another minute without sustenance!
As you can imagine, a mother can only handle so much calamity before deciding to save her sanity and come up with a plan and an easy snack to curb the famished children! PB & J Cracker Snackers were inspired by Jif Peanut Butter Spreads and Smucker’s Fruit Spreads and the absolute need to make things smoother after school.
We implemented several new rules for the children after school. And we are working on making sure our routine is similar each day so the routine becomes habit and mommy doesn’t loose her Ever. Loving. MIND!
Here are my top After School Tips:
1. Everyone should come in to the house, put shoes on the shelf, socks in the hamper, jacket on the rack, and backpack hung up.
2. Papers, notes, and homework will be kept in your backpack until mommy lets us know it is time to do homework. (With four children bringing home papers and homework and notes and everyone giving them to me at once; there was no way to keep them from becoming a huge disorganized mess!)
3. Help yourself to a glass of water. Water is good for you. You can get it all by yourself from the fridge dispenser. (I’m working on the kids drinking more water!)
4. Snacks are totally okay as soon as the previous steps are completed. You can make yourself and your siblings a snack or wait for mom to help you.
This last step is probably the biggest change in our home. Jon and I have decided to empower our children to work for themselves and their siblings. We are teaching them simple snacks the big boys can make for themselves and their siblings while I am in the kitchen supervising. Nothing complicated. Just healthy, easy snacks that are also filling and will hold them until dinner.
Their newest favorite snack is an easy twist on the classic PB & J! The boys have named them PB & J Cracker Snackers! I love that they are able to make this snack all on their own with very little mess.
Right now the Target Cartwheel App has an awesome savings deal of 5% off Jif Peanut Butter Spreads and Smucker’s Fruit Spreads! I am all about saving money on our favorite pantry staples. And, quite frankly, I needed an excuse to go to Target this week!
I always feel as if peanut butter is seeking a jelly to be friends with… It’s a happy meeting when they both end up in my cart!
These PB & J Cracker Snackers are so easy. The kids and I quickly gather the ingredients and they put them together and serve one another. These also have endless ways to change them up and get creative with flavors!
INGREDIENTS:
- Crackers (Whatever is the favorite in your house)
- Jif Creamy Peanut Butter
- Smucker’s Fruit Spread (we chose Smucker’s Strawberry Jam)
- Fruit (Sliced into bite sized pieces. i.e. Berries, bananas, pineapple, etc.)
- Chocolate Chips
DIRECTIONS:
- Lay out several crackers
- Give your child two spoons. Instruct them to use one spoon to scoop out a small portion of peanut butter or jelly. Use the other spoon to push the peanut butter or jelly onto the cracker. Use the back of a spoon to spread on the cracker.
- Add your topping of choice to the jelly or peanut butter.
- Depending on mouth size… Eat with one or two bites!
Of course, even if your mouth is appears to be small, there is no limit to what it can consume! Jordan and Justin have no problem keeping up with their big brothers and their appetites.
After School routines have become so much more smooth and pleasant since implementing these tips! The kids know what to expect and exactly what is required of them. We still have the random sock that “no one” left on the floor coming in the door… But I can deal with that.
Our top requested snack so far since school has been back in session? PB & J Cracker Snackers!
Make sure you stock up on Jif Peanut Butter Spreads and Smucker’s Fruit Spread and save with the Cartwheel app!
Happy Snacking!
Keikilani
Add some banana to the mix and my kids would be all over this!
I would love to make some tonight for the kids when they get home from school. They will be thrilled!
YUM. It’s a tough time of day for me, and the kids, so we welcome any good tips and great snacking advice. Nothing better than PB&J!
That looks like a yummy snack and thanks for the great tips. Jif peanut butter is the only brand that we buy.
These look so good and so cute! I love having snacks made when the kids get home. You can be so creative with this and add all kinds of toppings, the Peanut Butter will be the energy food 🙂 Thanks
You know what’s better than chocolate chips on those? Peanut Butter chips! Trust me, it’s amazing!
Such a cute idea! I actually have everything on hand already and will try this with my boys tomorrow! 🙂
This is definitely a snack my son would enjoy! We love PB&J in this household 😉
These look yummy! We love strawberries around here but I had never thought of putting them on crackers. I think the kids would love these PB&J treats! Must try!