What
Is This Unit About?
Learn
why cooking activities are valuable learning experiences for preschool
children and how you can make successful recipes that are full of
nutrients and wholesome learning. |
| Ten
Great Reasons to Cook with Children |
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When Evan was four years
old, his caregiver, Jennifer, made hard-boiled eggs with the children.
After the eggs had been boiled and cooled, she gave Evan an egg.
He tapped the eggshell gently on the table until he had cracked
the shell into many pieces, and for nearly twenty minutes he carefully
picked the tiny bits of shell off the egg with deep concentration.
After he finished, he looked up and beamed at Jennifer and said,
“I did it!” Cooking can give children a deep sense of
satisfaction and build their self-confidence. It can help them grow
in the following ways:
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- Learn about
nutrition and increase their willingness to try a new food
- Develop valuable
self-help skills and increase independence
- Develop math
concepts through counting, measuring, timing, and ordering
events
- Work cooperatively
with others
- Develop reading
skills, recognizing symbols and words
- Learn to follow
directions and complete all the steps necessary to finish
a task
- Explore the
world’s foods and learn about the customs of people
from around the world
- Learn science
concepts: temperature, volume, how something can change
when it is heated, etc.
- Improve fine
motor control through using hand muscles
- Express themselves
creatively
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| Cooking Together
Makes Sense |
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Young children are sensory learners: They use all their senses to
explore the world. Cooking gives children plenty of interesting sensory
experiences every day. Children use their sense of touch to knead
bread dough, tear lettuce leaves, and squeeze juice from an orange.
The smell of vanilla, cinnamon, and onions are all powerful for young
children. They hear the sound of corn popping or the soft hiss of
water boiling. And of course they get to taste the different foods.
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Take your cue from each child when trying out new foods. Do
not force any child to touch, smell, or taste any food. It is
natural for children to take their time in trying a new food.
In fact, many children need to be presented with a new food
as many as ten times before they are willing to try it. We can
help children develop a healthy relationship with food by letting
them discover what they like and don’t like to eat.
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| Getting
Set for Cooking |
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When you cook with children in your kitchen, good organization pays
off. Keep any special cooking supplies for the children in a box.
The basics include measuring spoons and cups, mixing spoons, spatulas,
a vegetable peeler, plastic bowls, a sauce pan, and a cutting board.
If you store these items together, you can pull out everything that
you need easily and quickly. If you work in a childcare center,
you may not have an oven available, but that doesn’t have
to stop you from cooking with the children. Many recipes don’t
require heating. You can also use a toaster oven, an electric burner,
or an electric skillet. Families may be willing to donate these
supplies if you explain what you are planning to do.
There
are many recipe books for children, including those with picture
recipes. Some have cute recipes, such as making mice out of
a pear half. Others have more “adult” food. Both
kinds of recipe books can give you great ideas for cooking with
children. Don’t be shy to try something that seems more
like an adult recipe than a kid snack. And don’t limit
yourself to snack foods: Try breakfast foods and “anytime”
foods.
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Be sure to read
over a recipe before using it. Here are some things to think about
when considering a recipe:
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- What skills
will the children learn?
- Does the recipe
include cooking skills that are hard for younger children?
- How many steps
does the recipe have? How much waiting time will there be?
- Is this a good
opportunity to teach children how to work together?
- How likely is
it that the children will make mistakes that will affect
the results? (Lumps in muffin batter aren’t much of
a problem, but lumps in some cake batters could result in
the cake not rising.) Is this recipe costly to make?
- Do you have
all the supplies readily available, or will you need to
make a trip to the store?
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| Cooking
Skills |
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Even children as young
as three can help with recipes with these skills involved.
Here are some
of the many cooking skills you can find in recipes:
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- Pouring - fill
and pour from pitchers
- Stirring - mixing
muffin batter
- Rolling with
a rolling pin - flattening and thinning out dough
- Kneading- punching
dough down
- Squeezing -
squeezing fruit for juice
- Washing - cleaning
potatoes and carrots with a brush
- Measuring liquid
and dry ingredients
- Cutting with
cookie cutters - pressing cookie cutters into dough
- Pounding - making
graham cracker crumbs
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As fine motor
skills improve, children are better able to do these skills:
- Beating- whipping
egg whites
- Grinding - grinding
wheat for bread
- Peeling - using
a vegetable peeler to remove potato skin
- Grating- grating
cheese or carrots
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| Cooking can
give children a great sense of satisfaction. When children cook, they
are learning many skills, including math and reading skills as well
as how to work together. They also get a chance to practice motor
skills through things like pouring, stirring, and measuring. Cooking
is a great sensory experience that children enjoy. When you prepare
by having the basic supplies on hand and selecting some simple recipes,
you are setting the stage for learning and fun through cooking. |
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A Word About Messes
Cooking
with children can be messy! Children can pick up on our tension if
we’re worried about messes. Then they could become nervous and
afraid of making more messes and mistakes. If you are relaxed about
messes and mistakes, the children will be too. If we teach a positive
attitude towards trying to things and making mistakes, we are doing
much more than just teaching cooking. So keep plenty of sponges handy
and a smile on your face! |
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Recipe Books With Picture
Recipes
Cup Cooking, by
Barbara Johnson and Betty Plemons, 1997, Gryphon House, Beltsville,
Maryland
Pretend Soup, by Mollie Katzen and Ann Henderson, Tricycle
Press, 1994, Berkeley, California
Cook and Learn: Nutritious Foods from Various Cultures, by
Beverly Veitch and Thelma Harms, 1981, Addison-Wesley, Menlo Park,
California
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| 1.
What are three good reasons to cook with children?
2. Describe why cooking is a sensory experience for children.
3. What skills do children learn when they cook?
4. Tell us about a great recipe you will do with the children:
- Name of recipe
- What materials do
you need?
- What will you do,
and what will the children do?
- What will the children
learn?
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