Peanut Butter Games

Peanut butter games and songs are enjoyable ways to teach children how to make their own sandwiches, encourage them to eat, and even learn basic economic skills. Illustrated children's books abound on these subjects, but creative parents can use the traditional poems to have fun with their children and teach them in an unforgettable way. Note that, while most parents mix peanut butter with jelly, some use honey instead, and some use just plain peanut butter.

  1. Use a Song to Get Kids to Eat

    • This traditional song, no longer under copyright, has several variations. The song, with its double entendre, makes kids laugh and hopefully eat as well:

      "A peanut sat on a railroad track / His heart was all aflutter. / Along came a choo choo train. /

      Chew chew peanut butter!"

    Peanut Butter and Jelly Wars

    • This game is for brave parents who never say "Never play with your food." One child is Peanut Butter and the other is Jelly. Peanut Butter places a drop of his ingredient on a piece of bread. Next Jelly places a drop of his ingredient on a piece of bread. The game ends when there is no more room on the bread or your opponent has turned your ingredient to his by surrounding it on all sides.

    Teach Sandwich Making Skills

    • In "Peanut Butter and Jelly: A Play Rhyme," Nadine Bernard Westcott uses a traditional rhyme with illustrations to teach children how to make their own peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Chant the rhyme along with hand motions to pretend all the steps to making the sandwich. Follow it up by having children make their own sandwiches and then eat them.

      A summary of the original rhyme, no longer under copyright, goes as follows:

      "First you take the peanuts and you crunch 'em, / Then you take the grapes and you squish 'em, / Then you take the bread and you spread it, / Then you take your sandwich and you eat it / 'Cause its good, peanut butter and jelly / Good, peanut butter."

      And jelly!

    Teaching Money Management

    • In "The Peanut Butter Game," authors Adam Eisenson and Joseph Walden introduce a hungry gorilla who loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Food is used as a tool to represent commodities that must be earned and invested. The teacher reads the book aloud and children respond to verbal cues with an action. Children in grades kindergarten through third grade are taught the concepts of money management in a fun way.