If you’re looking for a fun, creative activity for your kids, this one is a big hit with mine. I got the idea a few years ago from my son’s preschool teacher. All you need are two ingredients: marshmallows and toothpicks. Either the small or large size will do. A paper plate or paper towel is also helpful to give them a base to build on, and to move their creation when they’re done, without breaking it. Yes, marshmallows are a tempting building tool. Back in preschool, the kids used old stale dirty marshmallows, so that helped cut the temptation factor.

Yesterday, we used fresh delicious marshmallows left over from our weekend camping trip. I told the kids they could each eat one, and the rest were to be used for building. Amazingly, they complied. Having two kids who will not hesitate to tell on each other was helpful. When I came back in the room after leaving them silently working away for what seemed to me like hours (probably more like 10 minutes), I noticed my daughter had discovered a loophole in the “one marshmallow” rule. She was sticking the toothpicks into the marshmallows, then pulling them out and licking off the marshmallowy residue.