Jan 17, 2013.
Hello and a very happy 2013 to all our readers.
All young parents and children care-givers/educators must have at some point seen their children show great interest in cooking and related processes. Cooking is a whole new, exciting world for them as it involves interesting ingredients and activities. What's more, they can actually 'eat" their effort in the end! And that's not all. They learn Science and Math, they learn how to work as a team and they also develop great observation skills.
Set up a cooking station on a low table so that children can see what's going on and take part easily. Of course, it goes without saying that they must at all times supervised by an adult. This is not only mandatory from the safety point of view but also the adult is required to be able to mediate and extend children's learning. For instance, if a recipe requires 4 spoons of sugar, it helps to have an adult around to keep track of the counting involved.
What's Cooking?
So.....what can your child cook? If you have seen any of the Junior Master Chef series on TV, you will have been as astounded as I was to learn that some of the children on the show had been cooking from the age of 3 or 4 years. Even if they can't cook all by themselves, children love to help with things such as spreading butter or jam on slices of bread to make sandwiches. So, go ahead start with cold foods....sandwiches are a good thing to make. Get creative with the use of bread. Get children to cut out bread slices into different shapes - you could use lids, cake moulds or cookie cutters to do it. However, check for rounded edges before you hand over any implement to avoid accidents.
Children could also help with peeling fruit and squeezing juice, mixing dough or even lining cake tins before moving on to more complex procedures that involves the use of kitchen implements.
Getting Started:
Before handling food, wash your hands and ensure that the children to do the same. It's important that they see this as the first step to cooking every time. Explain clearly why this needs to be done. For instance you could say. "We must wash our hands with soap so that germs don't get into our food. Germs can make us very sick."
Next, hold a discussion on all the ingredients and equipment you will be using. Make sure it's all on the table so that children can name these or identify them if they are seeing some for the first time. As far as possible, have a set of bowls, spoons etc. for each child so that they can experience the real thing. Alternatively children could take turns measuring, pouring, mixing etc.
Making the Most of each Experience:
Encourage the children to use their senses to see, touch, smell and taste the raw materials before they are mixed together or processed. They will discover textures, colours, tastes and how materials change as they are processed. Ask open ended questions to guide their sensory experience. For instance, ask how sugar tastes..and whether any other ingredient tastes generally the same (honey, syrup or other sweet ingredients could be named). Similarly you could ask if they can think of other items in a kitchen of the same colour as sugar.
At the end of the cooking activity, ask children of they remember the sequence of events that went into creating the sandwich, cake or whatever it is you were collectively cooking. Finally, the last part of the cooking must be the best part of it - TASTING! Usually children love anything they have helped cook. Compliment their effort and say how delicious the dish is....then watch that beautiful smile light up their faces!
Happy Cooking!
Playpen Team
