Happy Popcorn Day!

Summary:

National Popcorn Day is a great time to try new foods, learn about sequencing and test your motor skills.

National Popcorn Day History

No one really knows the official, official start of National Popcorn Day but it may have roots with the Super Bowl. Popcorn is a very popular snack for gamewatchers. According to americasfavoritepopcorn.com,

Magazines in the 1980’s, states National Popcorn Day is actually on January 31st and not the 19th. From January 19th, 1980 on the date of National Popcorn Day always seemed to land on the same day as the Super Bowl. But finally, on January 19th in 2003 a new paper stated it was National Popcorn Day, and the date has stuck ever since!

How can I celebrate Popcorn Day?

Flavor Recipes

Our Feeding Therapy Department suggested trying some new flavors on your popcorn. We all love buttery, salty and there are big fans of sweet caramel corn, but have you ever tried gingerbread or Mexican cocoa?

Here are a few recipes for some other fan faves. Be sure to click the image for more ideas from LiveEatLearn.com

Speech and Language

Recipes are a great way to practice speech and language skills, especially following directions and sequencing. As you’re gathering ingredients, talk about what needs to happen first, next and last. See if your child can recall the steps to making the popcorn while enjoying the tasty snack. This helps build memory and word retrieval.

OT Fine Motor

Stringing popcorn is a fun way to practice hand eye coordination and fine motor skills. Here’s a great article on how to do it. Some tips: Use plain popped corn (air popped is recommended). Try sewing thread, dental floss or fishing line. Use a sharp sewing needle.

We think the popcorn and cranberry look would be nice for Valentine’s Day. What do you think?