Cinnamon Roll Snails

Skills: Use of imagination. Development of small and large motor skills. How to make "coils" or "ropes" with dough. Beginning baking skills.

Letters/Sounds: S (snail, slime), C (cinnamon, chocolate chips), F (feelers, feet).

Ingredients:

1 (17.5 oz) container Pillsbury® Grands!® refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing

(or other store-bought brand)

½ to 1 cup real, semisweet chocolate chips

(Paper plates)

Directions for Adults:

Step 1)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step 2)

Open the container carefully and separate each roll from the others.

Give each child a roll.

Directions for Children:

Step 3)

Squish the bit of dough into a ball and then roll it out into a rope or snake form.

Step 4)

Coil some of the dough to make the spiral of the shell and use the rest of the dough to make the body and the antennae.

Step 5)

Press a chocolate chip into the end of each antenna to make the eyes.

Step 6)

Carefully place each snail on a lightly-greased baking sheet. Sprinkle the top of each snail with a little granulated sugar, if desired.

Step 7)

Bake for approximately 10 to 12 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown.

Finishing:

Put each child’s name on a paper plate. After the snails have cooled to the touch, put their snails on the appropriate plate and let the children use the cinnamon roll icing to make the snail’s “mucus trail.”

Let’s Think About It/ Talk About It:

• Did you like doing this activity? What was your favorite part?

• How did it feel to work with the dough to make a snail shape?

• Do you remember the parts of a snail? What are they? Where are they on your Cinnamon Roll Snail?

• What happened to your snail when it was put in the oven? Did it look different when it came out? How did it look different?

• What other kinds of animal shapes do you think you could make with cinnamon roll dough?