Z is for Zebra, Zipper, and Zucchini

Crafts:

• Coloring page (see below)
• Cut out a white Z. Next, cut out thin strips of black paper. Glue strips to Z to create a zebra colored Z. You could also cut out a white z and make a marble craft with black paint to create a zebra striped Z.
• See how many clothes you can find with zippers
• Make a zebra out of a paper plate or a zebra puppet out of a white paper bag
• Zoom around by running in zig zags
• Plant zinnias in your garden

Food:

• Zucchini (Broiled Zucchini, Stuffed Zucchini)
• Ziti (pasta dish)
• Zingers (snack food)
• Zero bars (candy bar)

Y is for Yellow, Yams, and Yaks

Crafts:

• Learn about yaks
• Make art only using yellow and yarn
• Play with a Yo-Yo
• Take a walk and find only things that start with a Y (yellow flowers, yellow jackets, etc.)
• Make a yak out of a paper plate
• Crack open an egg and look at the yolk. You could also hard-boil the egg, and eat the yolk and whites separately. How do the taste and texture differ?

Food:

• Yogurt (try making yogurt fruit flowers)
• Yams
• Yellow Squash
• Yeast Rolls
• Yolk (in an egg)
• Make Y shaped food (bread sticks, sugar cookies)

X is for X-Ray, Xylophone, and X-Box

We're almost done! X has thrown me for a loop and has proven quite the challenge to find food ideas, much less craft ideas.

Crafts:

• Coloring page (see below)
• Create a xylophone craft. Cut out a large X out of paper. Next, cut small strips of colored paper and paste down the center of the X. Cut out drum stick shapes from brown paper and glue on the X.
• Cut out long bone shapes out of white paper. Paste on a piece of black paper in an X shape to make an x-ray craft.
• If you have any x-rays of old injuries, get them out and let the kids take a look!
• Play tic-tac-toe (It does have an X in it!)
• This one is a bit of a stretch. Have a pirate day: make treasure maps with a big X to mark where the treasure is, have the kids make their own pirate flags and make sure there is a skull and crossbones in an X somewhere on the flag.
• Go to an office supply store and make copies on a Xerox machine
• Ask if they know anyone named Xavier
• Play on the X-Box
• Watch an X-Men show (if your kids are old enough)

Food:

• Xavier Souppe (An Italian soup. Click here or here for recipes. I have not tried this yet, but it looks interesting.)
• Xavier Steak (Steak topped with asparagus and Swiss cheese. Click here for a recipe.)
• Buy a bag of alphabet pretzels and eat only the X's for the day!
• Make X shaped biscuits, bread sticks, or sugar cookies

W is for Water, Wet, and Wild

Crafts:

• Coloring Page (see below)
• Make Wind Chimes 
• Make a windsock
• Make a walrus puppet out a paper bag and construction paper.
• Learn about walruses and whales while eating a snack of watermelon and wheat thins
• Create a wreath

Food:

• Watermelon
• Wafers
• Waffles
• Walnuts
• Wontons
• Wings
• Wheaties
• Wheat Thins
• Wheat bread
• Water

V is for Velvet, Violet, and Violin

Crafts:

• Coloring Page (see below)
• Let them help you make vegetable soup
• Paint a vase at a local paint-your-own pottery place, or paint an old jar or can to create your own vase
• Learn about violets, volcanoes, and vultures
• Plant some violets in your garden
• Make violet crafts. Cut out flower shapes from purple paper and glue on a small yellow circle for the center.
• Make Valentine's to leave for special people, even if it's not Valentine's Day!

Food:

• Veal
• Vegetables (Cut into fun shapes. i.e. flower carrots or cucumber slices)
• Vermicelli pasta
• Velveeta cheese
• Vindaloo
• Vinaigrette
• Volaille chicken
• Vienna (roll, sausage)
• Vegetable soup

U is for Umbrella, Unicorn, and Under

It's time for the letter U!

Crafts:

• Coloring Page (see below)
• Make an umbrella out of a paper plate and pipe cleaner
• Practice Up and Under
• Cut out a U shape in a sponge and dip in paint. Stamp out U's.
• Decorate the letter U with a unicorn and an umbrella
• Listen to ukulele music

Food:

• Ugli Fruit
• Upside Down Cake
• Make jello jigglers. Once set, cut out U shapes with a cookie cutter.
• For breakfast, make U shaped pancakes

T is for Time-Out, Turtle, and Tree

Today's letter is T.

Crafts:

• Coloring Page (see below)
• Make a Handprint Tree (Cut out a brown paper trunk or draw a trunk. Paint a thin layer of paint on your child's hands and place around the top of the trunk to create the leaves of the tree.)
• Plant a tree, tomato plant, or tulips
• Play with tops
• Learn about turtles, turkeys
• Turkey crafts (I have a lot on the blog, but here are two examples: pine cone turkey, easy turkey cookies.)

Food:

• Taco
• Tangerines
• Tamale
• Tea
• Toast
• Toffee
• Tofu
• Toblerone
• Tomato
• Tortilla
• Tortellini
• Tootsie Rolls
• Tortilla chips
• Truffles
• Twix
• Truffles
• Trout
• Turnips
• Turtles
• Turkey
• Tuna

S is for Snake, Sun, and Sundaes

The letter of the day is S.

Crafts:

• Coloring Page (see below)
• Tie Snake
• Make Sheep or Spiders out of egg cartons
• Make star crafts, such as a sun or star shaped sun catcher
• Play a star catching game
• Make Play-Doh spiders
• Learn about snakes, skunks, sheep, spiders, squirrels, sharks, stingrays and squids
• Go to a story time
• Make stained glass
• Cut out paper snowflakes, edible snowflakes, or make a golf ball snowman
• Make styrofoam snakes
• Make artwork using the sun

Food:

• Strawberries (See my Summer Time Snacks post for an easy frozen strawberry treat.)
• Salad
• Salami
• Salmon
• Salsa
• Saltine crackers
• Sausage
• Sauerkraut
• Scones
• Seaweed
• Shrimp
• Skittles
• Snickerdoodles
• Snickers
• Soup
• Spaghetti (For a fun way to serve spaghetti, try Spaghetti Sundaes!)
• Saffron
• Sage
• Squash
• Starburst
• Steak
• Stew (Irish Beef Stew, Chicken Stew-Mediterranean Inspired)
• Stroganoff
• Stuffing
• Sugar Cookies (Recipe towards bottom of post.)
• Sundaes
• Sun Chips
• Swiss Chard
• Sushi
• Spinach
• Squid Hot Dogs
• Snail Ice Cream

R is for Radio, Rainbows, and Rabbit

The letter of the day is R!

Crafts:

• Coloring Page (see below)
• Rainbow (draw, look for rainbows, paper chain)
• Stop and smell the roses! You could even plant your own rose plant.
• Play in the rain
• Make a rocket ship
• Learn about rabbits, reindeer, rattlesnakes, and raccoons 

Food:

• Raisins
• Radish
• Ravioli
• Raspberries
• Reese's Pieces
• Rainbow Cupcakes (I have two versions: Part 1 and Part 2)
• Rice
• Relish
• Ritz crackers
• Rigatoni
• Risotto
• Roast Beef
• Rolo's candies
• Ruffles chips

Q is for Quilt, Queen, and Quesadilla

Today's letter is Q.

Crafts:

• Coloring Page (see below)
• Q-tip painting
• Make snowflakes out of Q-tips
• Learn about quails
• Make quesadillas together
• Make quarter rubbings or prints

Food:

• Quiche
• Quesadilla
• Quail
• Quince
• Quinoa
• Queso

P is for Piano, Pumpkin, and Purple

Give me a P!

Crafts: (Click on links for directions)

• Coloring page (see below)
• Puzzle
• Potato Stamps
• Make Your Own Popsicles
• Decorate a pumpkin. If you can't find a pumpkin, check out my Pumpkin Alternatives post. There is a pumpkin coloring sheet at the bottom.
• Dress up as pirates
• Learn about pandas, pigs, peacocks, and partridges 
• Make art only using the color purple
• Play with Play-Doh, or make your own
• Make a stained glass pumpkin

Food: (Click on links for recipes)

• Pizza
• Pretzels
• Puzzle shaped sandwich
• Paella
• Pancakes
• Panini
• Popcorn (Candied, Chocolate drizzled)
• Pop Rocks
• Pork (with apples and stuffing, honey spice rubbed)
• Popovers
• Popsicles
• Pop Tarts
• Potatoes (baked, chips, salad)
• Pumpkin (pie, soup, dip)
• Pancetta
• Pad Tai
• Papaya
• Pattypan squash
• Peach
• Pastrami
• Passion Fruit
• Parsnip
• Peas
• Parmesan cheese
• Pears
• Pecans
• Peppers
• Penne pasta
• Pickles
• Pig
• Pie
• Pineapple
• Plum
• Pita
• Plantain
• Pistachios
• Prunes
• Pringles chips
• Pudding
• Partridge 

O is for Octopus, Orange, and Oatmeal

We're almost there! Today's letter is O.

Crafts:

• Coloring page (see below)
• Orange Bird Feeder
• Make an octopus out of a toilet paper roll. Paint the roll and let dry. Cut 8 strips to create legs, but make sure to leave 1 1/2 inches at the top of the roll for the head. Curl the legs around a thick pen or marker to make the strips curve upwards like tentacles. Next, draw or paint on eyes and a smiley face. You could also use googly eyes. You could also use stickers or paint on dots to decorate the tentacles.
• Color with only orange
• Learn about octopus, opossum, otters, ostrich, orangutan, owls, oxen, and okapi
• Octopus coloring page (coloring page is at the bottom of the post)

Food:

• Octopus apple
• Orange
• Orange Juice
• Octopus Hot Dog
• Oatmeal
• Oatmeal Cookies
• Okra
• Omelet
• Onion (rings, soup)
• Oreo cookies
• Oyster crackers
• Orzo
• Ox
• Orange Fruit Bowl

N is for Nails, Nuts, and Noodles

What comes after M? The letter N!

Crafts:

• Coloring page (see below)
• Look in trees and bushes for birds nests
• Make art or necklaces out of noodles and nuts (either nut shells or with metal nuts found on Dad's work bench). You could also make a frame for Dad with nuts and nails found on his workbench (or at  the hardware store).
• Use a black piece of construction paper and star and moon stickers to create a night sky
• Use left over brown packing or craft paper to create a nest shape. Add in Easter eggs to finish the nest.
• Learn about nightingales and newts 
• Paint finger/toe nails (of course, this probably only works if you have girls!)

Food:

• Nuts
• Nachos
• Nectarine
• Nougat
• Naan
• Noodles
• Nutella
• Nuggets 

M is for Mail, Monkey, and Moon

Today's letter is M!

Crafts:

• Coloring page (see below)
• Make a letter M into a mountain
• Create a monster out of a toilet paper roll
• Use paper plates to create a moon or a monkey
• Use marshmallows to create an edible moon craft
• See who can make the best mask
• Learn about monkeys, mermaids, manatees, mice, and moose
• Use small empty plastic jars to create maracas. You could also use plastic Easter eggs and tape a popsicle stick or plastic spoon to the side for the handle.
• Cut out pieces of an egg carton, paint, and make mushrooms
• Make a monster or monkey puppet out of a paper bag
• Use oval sponges to create a mouse shape. Dip in paint and stamp for the body. Once dried, draw on a tail, eyes, and ears.

Food: 

• Meatballs
• Mud Pie
• M&M's
• Mango
• Marmalade
• Manicotti
• Macaroons
• Maple syrup
• Marzipan
• Marshmallows
• Melba toast
• Meatloaf
• Mentos (candy)
• Milk
• Milkshake
• Milk Duds
• Meringue
• Mince Pie
• Mint
• Mousse
• Mostaccioli
• Mustard
• Mussels
• Muffins
• Mushrooms

L is Lion, Library, and Lemon

Today we are working on the letter L!

Crafts:

• Coloring page (see below)
• Learn about lions, ladybugs, and llamas 
• Make Lego characters or buildings 
• Have the kids help fold laundry
• Make Lifesavers life raft napkin rings 
• Make ladybug fingerprint crafts. Dip a fingertip in red paint and let dry. Once paint had dried, draw or paint on wings, antennae, and dots.
• Make a lion out of a white paper plate. Cut slits all around the edge of the plate to create a mane. Paint the rim of the plate brown and let dry. Once it is dry, paint the center of the plate yellow for the face. Let dry. Draw on eyes, nose, and mouth with a marker (or paint on with black paint).
• Cut out leaf shapes from paper
• Make a lion puppet

Food:

• Lemon
• Lamb
• Lettuce
• Licorice
• Lollipop
• Lime
• Lobster
• Leek
• Lasagna
• Lemonade
• Laffy Taffy
• Ladyfingers
• Lemongrass
• Lindenberry
• Lavender
• Lego candy or Lego jello mold

K is for Kangaroo, Kite, and Kiwi

It's time for the letter K!

Crafts:

• Coloring page (see below) 
• Key prints. Paint a thin layer of paint on an old key and stamp around a piece of paper.
• Fly a Kite
• Learn about kangaroos, kiwi birds, and koala bears
• Play knights or create knight crafts (aluminum foil works great for armor)
• Make a kite magnet. Use popsicle sticks to form a t shape. Cut out a diamond shape from thick paper like construction paper or cardstock. Glue a piece of ribbon to the bottom tip of the diamond. Glue popsicle sticks on top. Let dry. Once it is dried, glue a magnet to the back or use a self adhesive magnet.

Foods:

• Kool-Aid
• Kale
• Kabobs
• Kaiser roll
• Kelp
• Ketchup
• Key Lime Pie
• Kettle Corn
• Kippers
• Kit Kat (candy bar)
• Kiwi
• Kix (cereal)
• Kumquats
• Kimchi
• Kraft (cheese, mac & cheese)
• Kielbasa
• Klondike bars

J is for Jack, Jump, and Jello

Who's ready for the next letter? Today's letter is J.

Crafts:

• Coloring page (see below)
• Make Jello together (jigglers, layered jello, personal jello fruit cups, etc.)
• Have a jumping, jump rope, or joke telling contest
• Carve a Jack-o-Lantern (or make one on paper)
• Learn about jellyfish and jaguars. For fun, you can learn about the mythical jackalope.
• Learn how to juggle (or watch a juggler)
• Make a craft using jewel stickers or make your own jewelry (make a jelly bean bracelet or buy a jewelry kit for kids)

Foods:

• Jerky 
• Jello (Personal Jello Fruit Cups, Layered Jello, Jello Jigglers)
• Jam
• Jalapeno peppers
• Jelly
• Jelly Beans (candy)
• Jolly Ranchers (candy)
• Juice
• Junior Mints (candy)
• Juniper Berries (I think they look a lot like blueberries. If you want to know more, here is a link to Wiki)
• Jujubes (candy)

I is for Igloo, Ice, and Iguana

Who's ready for another letter? Today's letter is I. I found it really hard to find foods that start with I, but I gave it my best shot.

Crafts:

• Coloring page (see below)
• Edible Igloo
• Make your own ice cream
• Make icicles
• Ice Bowling

Food:

• Ice Cream, Ice Cream Sandwiches
• Ice Pops 
• Icee
• Indian food (curry, tikka masala)
• Italian food
• Icing
• These are a bit of a stretch:
• Irish Soda Bread 
• Irish Beef Stew
• Italian Bread
• Italian Sausage

H is for Hungry, Happy, and Honey

It's letter time! Today's letter is H.

Crafts:

• Coloring page (see below)
• Draw Happy faces
• Draw pictures of your house/home
• Make a hippo puppet
• Make a house out of large cardboard boxes and color it
• Create art out of handprints
• Have the kids help you with laundry by hanging up clothes on hangers
• Play Hungry, Hungry, Hippo

Food:

• Hot dogs
• Haddock/Herring
• Haggis
• Ham
• Hamburger
• Hash
• Hen
• Hershey chocolate bars or Kisses
• Hoagie
• Ho Ho's
• Honey (honeycomb, honeysuckle)
• Honeydew melon
• Hot Chocolate
• Huckleberry
• Hushpuppies
• Hummus

G is for Green, Grapefruit, and Giraffe

It's letter time again! Today's letter is G.

Crafts:

• Coloring page (see below)
• Paint art using Gold and Green paints
• Learn about giraffes, goats, gorillas, and geese
• Pick grapes
• Ghosts: 

• Cover a lollipop with a tissue, tie with a ribbon at the base and use a marker to draw on some eyes
• Make ghosts using tea lights and an egg carton
• Ghostly Handprints
• Make a giraffe or goat puppet (a paper bag and construction paper works great!)
• Let the kids wear gloves and help plant in the garden, or even take out the garbage!
• Make a giraffe out of a G (see below)

Food:

• Grapes (try freezing them and having a yummy cold snack)
• Ghost Parfaits
• Goldfish
• Graham crackers
• Ganache
• Gelato
• Garlic (bread)
• Ginger (gingerale, gingersnaps, ginger bread)
• Gnocchi
• German sausage
• Goat
• Goose
• Gooseberries
• Granola
• Gravy
• Grapefruit
• Grits
• Guava
• Guacamole
• Gumbo
• Gum
• Gyros
• Gummies (candy)
• Gold foil covered chocolate coins

G Coloring Page

Giraffe ready to color

Giraffe to cut out, paste together, and color