All-Fruit Pops

Nothing but fresh fruit goes into these easy blender pops. The trick is to use almost over-ripe fruit. One batch makes 6 pops.

What you need:

• 2 very ripe bananas
• 10 to 15 very ripe strawberries (small)
• 1 very ripe mango or papaya (or 3 kiwis)
• 6 popsicle sticks

What to do:

1. Ask your child to help you wash and clean the fruit.
2. Your child can peel and slice the banana with a plastic serrated knife.
3. After you have peeled the mango (or papaya or kiwi) your child can use the plastic knife to make small chunks.
4. Ask your child to place the fruits in a blender. You might ask: How will the fruits change after they are blended? Turn on the blender and witness the change.
5. Invite your child to watch you pour the liquid fruit into popsicle containers or paper cups.
6. Ask your child to place a popsicle stick into each container.
7. You might ask: Is it easy to move the stick? Do you think it will be easy to move it when the pop is frozen? Let's try it and see!
8. After the pops are frozen, your child can observe how the fruit has changed from the blended fruit to the frozen fruit. Here is a great question to ask: How can you make your solid fruit pop a liquid again?