Cooking With Kids

I love cooking with kids. It’s often messy and most projects take longer than anticipated but it’s worth it because it instills a sense of joy in the kitchen at an early age. It also helps children feel like they are great helpers thus boosting their self esteem. When I was teaching preschool outside the home, I usually did a cooking project with the children once per week. At home, I cook, bake and create with my kids often. My children love helping in the kitchen. If you dropped by my house nearing a meal time or snack time, it would not be uncommon to find my kids in the kitchen stirring, pouring or spreading something. Cooking is a great way to easily incorporate math, science and a sensory experience into your day. And as a bonus, often children will be more likely to try something new just because they helped make it.

A challenge for the week: Let your children help cook at least one meal or snack. It doesn’t need to be anything elaborate, it can be as easy as letting them dump a pudding mix into a bowl, pour milk from a measuring cup into the pudding then whisk. Maybe even letting your child slice a banana with a butter knife (with close supervision) to add into the pudding. If you are just beginning to cook with kids, keep it easy.

I plan to add several kid friendly recipes from time to time so stop back often to see what's new.