8 Fun The Marshmallow Incident Activities
I earn a commission from products purchased through links in this post.
Summer means s’mores in my house. Most Friday evenings we set up our fire pit and the adults chat with neighbors while the kids roast marshmallows. I keep the pantry stocked with marshmallows, a Costco-sized package of graham crackers, and chocolate bars. I’m sure my kids are not the only ones who love marshmallows, so I wanted to make sure that my book-based summer activities for kids series included a book all about this sticky treat. The Marshmallow Incident by Judi Barrett is a great addition to the list.
A few years ago, we read The Marshmallow Incident by Judi Barrett. This is a story about two rival towns. One of the towns happens to have an enormous surplus of marshmallows. These marshmallows are pulled into battle when the two towns have an ‘incident’. After we read the story, we had fun with these activities.
I love planning a few activities to go along with books. It reminds me of my days as a classroom kindergarten teacher and my days with little kids at home.
Grab a copy of The Marshmallow Incident and then do these activities with your kids.
The Marshmallow Incident Activities
Read the Story
The first step of any book and activity combo is to read the story. This story has cute drawings that are typical of Ron Barrett’s work.
- Hardcover Book
Last update on 2026-09-16 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Make Homemade Marshmallows
Homemade marshmallows are surprisingly easy to make. Some summers my kids and I go on a marshmallow kick and end up making a new batch every week. We like to tweak our favorite recipe by altering the flavors. Challenge your kids to come up with delicious flavors. So far we have tried:
- Peanut butter (We added peanut powder until it tasted peanutty)
- Peanut butter chocolate (We added peanut butter powder and mini chocolate chips)
- Strawberry (We added crushed freeze-dried strawberries)
- Mint (We used mint extract instead of vanilla)
Roast Marshmallows
My kids love roasting marshmallows. It just screams summer night fun. If you have little ones, this is a great chance to practice fire safety skills. We typically use our fire pit, but my kids have been known to roast marshmallows over candles too.
If you plan to roast lots of marshmallows for s’mores this summer, consider putting together a s’mores kit. Place graham crackers, marshmallows, and a variety of chocolates (peanut butter cups are amazing) into a lidded container. Then you are always ready for an impromptu s’mores night!
If you want to roast your homemade marshmallows, I recommend letting them sit out uncovered for a few days. This helps them dry out and roast better.
Build Catapults and Try to Launch Marshmallows
After reading The Marshmallow Incident, we made catapults with paper towel tubes, rubber bands, and spoons – all items we had on hand. GoScienceKids.com has a great tutorial on building the catapult. My kids are old enough to problem-solve on their own, so I did not give them directions.
I just set out the materials and let them build their catapults through trial and error. The great thing about using ordinary household items to build is that kids start to look at the recycling bin a little differently. It shifts their way of thinking.
This is the perfect opportunity to pull out any castle blocks and try to knock the castle down.
Create Marshmallow and Toothpick Structures
This is a delicious open-ended activity. Put toothpicks and a variety of marshmallows on the table and encourage the kids to create anything they want. If the kids need ideas to get started, suggest they build the biggest tower they can.
I always have a variety of marshmallows on hand, so I set out an assortment for them to work with:
- Mini
- Regular size
- Large
- Shaped
If your kids are like mine, they will want to eat the marshmallows after they are finished building, so this might not be a great activity right before bed.
Sort Nouns and Verbs
123homeschool4me has a great free Marshmallow Incident noun and verb sort on their website. This is a cute way to practice identifying parts of speech. A marshmallow word sort is definitely more fun than a standard worksheet.
Marshmallow Patterns
Marshmallows are a fantastic hands-on manipulative for patterning. Our grocery store baking aisle has a ton of different marshmallows – huge, regular size, mini, chocolate, watermelon flavored, striped, etc.
Start young children off with a simple AB pattern that they copy. The next step is to build their own AB pattern. Once they understand the concept behind patterning, encourage them to create as many types of patterns as possible.
Make Marshmallow Play Dough
Marshmallow play dough is incredibly easy to make. To make enough marshmallow play dough for two children, you will need:
- 12 Marshmallows, regular size
- 2 Teaspoons coconut oil
- 3 Tablespoons cornstarch
Directions:
- Place the marshmallows and coconut oil in a microwavable bowl and microwave for 30 seconds.
- Stir to combine.
- Fold in the cornstarch. Knead it in until the marshmallow playdough isn’t sticky.
I recommend that each child has their own small supply of the play dough. We want to avoid sharing edible play dough so that we don’t share germs.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Keep reading . . .