12 nov Cooking with the little ones!

Little Chefs!

Cooking with the little ones can provide practical experience with many essential skills such as reading, following instructions, and measuring. Getting involved in cooking can help your child to develop fine motor skills, eye hand coordination, and even early concepts of math and science.

Cooking offers a great opportunity to help with language development. When you talk and describe what you are doing you are exposing the little ones to new words and terms. As children get older it get’s more natural for them to describe to you what they are doing, what they see, smell and how things feel. The younger you start, the better. Children are more likely to try different ingredients and foods if they experience them at an early age.

Whether you’re stuck at home or just looking for something to keep little hands busy, cooking with kids is a great family activity. There’s something delightful about making your own food, cooking can be therapeutic and it also helps kids to become more independent.

You can start with simple tasks like pouring liquid into the bowl, sprinkling cheese on top of the casserole, or using cookie cutters are a good fit for most preschoolers.

How little chefs can help on the daily life:

– stirring pancake batter
– tearing lettuce for salad
– adding ingredients
– helping you “read” a cookbook by turning the pages and repeating the instructions
– tasting ingredients

For safety reasons, you should be in the kitchen with them at all times, supervising and monitoring progress. Your time in the kitchen with your little one can be a culinary adventure you’ll both enjoy.