You've been following Joe Wicks doing his PE lesson each day, you've logged on to educational websites to help them learn their Maths & English and you might have even tuned into David Walliams reading a story each day but how about trying something that doesn't get much time spent on it during school time....Cooking & Food Preparation.
I don't know about you but my opinion is that every child should be growing up doing some form of cooking. Learning to cook for yourself is a hugely important part of your development and can help to improve self confidence as well as fine motor skills.....and who doesn't love baking a cake or a homemade loaf of bread!?
Hints & Tips For Every Age Group
Little Helpers (Age 3-5)
At this age they'll need plenty of supervision but you can give them basic tasks to do, things that don't need to be precise as they are still building up their motor skills. Hands are their best tool & they love to smash, tear & grab things so why not give them tasks such as:
Washing fruits & vegetables
Tearing up lettuce leaves for salads
Mashing up ripe banana for a banana bread/muffins
Wrapping potatoes in foil ready to bake in the oven
Kneading dough once you've worked it into a soft ball
Smashing up biscuits for a base
Chef's Helpers (Age 5-7)
This is the perfect age to teach them how to crack an egg & learn how to use a knife to cut up soft foods (child friendly knifes are available so that they can learn to cut without the danger of a sharp knife).
You could also purchase a child friendly cookbook and let them read along with the recipe or sound out words.
They can also:
Mix together dry ingredients
Measure & count out ingredients
Set the table for dinner
Roll mixture/meat into balls
Budding Cooks (Age 8-12)
At this age, you can give children a simple recipe to follow & only give a little bit of supervision & support when needed. A great idea to use is giving children a range of different fruits to choose from to create their own fruit salad.
A few other things they can do are:
Peeling vegetables with a veg peeler
Toasting bread
Making sandwiches
Unloading groceries
Washing up & putting away the pots
Mixing up a basic batter for recipes such as muffins & pancakes
Helping make their school lunch (once they are back at school!)
Chefs In The Making (Age 13+)
This is the point at which teenagers can learn about using more equipment in the kitchen such as the oven, blenders, food processors & using sharp knives. It is important to make sure you teach them all about using these items safely & it's a good idea to supervise them on their first attempts of using the equipment. Another key area to educate them about is the handling of raw foods & how to store them correctly.
Why not give them the opportunity to create dinner one day, help them think about what they are going to cook, the ingredients they will need & be around to help if they need it, but let them be as independent as possible with creating the meal. This will also give you a night off from cooking!
Recipe Book Recommendations
*Ella's Kitchen: The Easy Family Cookbook
*Children's First Cookbook: Have Fun in the Kitchen!
*Eat Your Greens Reds Yellows and Purples: A Colourful Guide to things Delicious and Nutritious
*Super Foods for Super Kids Cookbook: 50 Delicious (and Secretly Healthy) Recipes Kids Will Love to Make
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