Pretzel Log Cabin

What You Need:

• Pretzel sticks
• Peanut Butter
• Marshmallows
• Newspaper
• Knife
• Table

What You Do:

1. Cover your working service with newspaper or other scratch paper.
2. Dump the marshmallows onto the newspaper.
3. Help your child rip the marshmallows into pieces. Don't stress too much about size. You'll want a variety of big and little marshmallow pieces.
4. Let your child begin building her cabin. Show her that because marshmallows are sticky, they stay together without any adhesive. Encourage her to experiment with different combinations of marshmallows.
5. Once she has a marshmallow house shape she's happy with, tell her it's time to add the "logs."
6. Carefully help your child use a knife to spread a thin layer of peanut butter on the marshmallow house.
7. Help her lay one pretzel stick at a time against the marshmallows. Add more peanut butter if the sticks aren't sticking to each other or the marshmallow.
8. Continuing stacking the pretzel sticks up the sides of the marshmallow house.
9. Once the pretzel walls are completed, it's time to create the roof. Your child can try out different designs and combinations of marshmallows, pretzels and peanut butter, but don’t forget that the larger the building is, the harder it will be to construct a sturdy roof.
10. Use pretzels to add a bit of decorative flair to the log cabin. Let your child add a tiny pretzel door and maybe even a cozy pretzel chimney.

The fun doesn't have to stop here. After the first building is done, have your child try and make more log buildings -- why not a log castle or a log skyscraper? Compare different strategies of marshmallow construction and pretzel stick stacking. Have fun and don’t be afraid to get messy!