Make Chocolate Letters

Give learning the art of cursive an extra creative boost, by creating chocolate letters with your child. Melted chocolate is easy to use—and the finished letters look great on a special cake or as a tasty, letter-shaped treat. He'll get practice with this fun letter-writing technique, and hone his fine motor skills at the same time!

What You Need:

• Bag of chocolate chips
• Parchment paper
• Plastic bag
• Scissors
• Rubber band
• Marker
• Granola bars or oatmeal cookies

What You Do:

1. Help your child get ready to create cursive chocolate letters by melting a bag of chocolate chips in the microwave or over a double boiler. Once the chocolate is smooth and melted, let it rest and cool until it becomes comfortable to the touch, about five minutes.
2. While he’s waiting for the chocolate to cool, ask him to practice writing the alphabet in cursive using a black marker on a sheet of parchment paper.
3. Now he can spoon the warm chocolate into a plastic bag and then twist a rubber band around the open end to hold the bag closed.
4. Invite her to practice holding the bag, with one of the pointed corners facing down, while tracing over the cursive letters. When she’s ready, she can cut the very tip of the corner off with scissors, and then gently squeeze the chocolate over the cursive letters.
5. Once the chocolate has cooled, your child can gently peel the letters off the paper. He can either enjoy them as a tasty treat, or position them on top of a cake for someone’s birthday or special celebration.
6. For a fun treat, offer your child plain, store-bought granola bars or oatmeal cookies as a place to write the names of her family and friends in cursive with the chocolate. Recipients with a sweet tooth are sure to enjoy these yummy gifts!