Monday, October 7, 2013

Chocolate Spiders and Graham Cracker Web Designs

It's that time of year again---when all the bizarre ideas come forth.  Time to make chocolate spiders and spin spider webs over graham crackers.


The recipe is not tricky.  Buy "Almond Bark" or something similar (and inexpensive) that's meant for melting and warm it in the microwave, according to the package directions.  Never let it scorch while heating.  Remove it from the microwave and stir:
Our students in the class for highschoolers with autism pretty much are masters of the microwave.  We just had to caution them to grasp only the measuring cup handle, since the cup part was a little toasty.  The students didn't believe us when we said stirring the warmed block of chocolate would work, but it did.
Occasionally we had to re-heat the chocolate for about 10 more seconds since it was cooling quickly and became a little sluggish when poured.
This is a fuzzy shot of the student trying to believe us when we instructed her to lift up the candy mold and drop it on the counter--really, you want me to drop it???  It helps settle the candy into the crevices of the mold and removes any air bubbles.
 After the drop.
 What to do with the leftover chocolate?  Drizzle spider web-ish designs over graham crackers.
 Cool about 20 minutes and the candy is ready to pop out of the molds.
Let's do it again.

Great activity for sequencing, graded arm/hand movements, independence with easy kitchen tasks and using small appliances, plus all the language associated with the task.  As usual, my SLP buddy had to remind me to stop handing items to students and wait for them to ask for each thing. 

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