Kids Cooking In The Kitchen - The Benefits
Kids cooking in the kitchen is not just about giving them something to do to help you out, although that's a nice benefit. It's
also not just about giving them an activity so they won't complain of boredom, even though cooking works great for that. I'm talking about the benefits of learning math, science, literature, and art
while having a good time.
Math and Cooking
Anyone who can cook can do math – it's that
simple. So much of what you do in the kitchen involves doing math and that's why children can learn through following simple recipes.
Take, for example, the subject of adding fractions. When kids have to learn it by looking at seemingly random numbers on a page, it can be
difficult. However, if you decide you're going to make a double batch of chocolate chip cookies and all of those ingredients (most of which are written as fractions) need to be doubled, your son or daughter
can find great motivation in learning how to add those fractions together. They wouldn't want to come up short on the chocolate chips, would they?
Science and Cooking
If you've watched many cooking programs, you may
have already become familiar with the magic of science that is at work daily in your kitchen. Helping your children see that science and giving them the okay to experiment with it can be a great learning
experience. It will also make for fun lessons they won't soon forget.
For example, you could teach the children about the three stages of matter: gas, solids, and liquids. You could boil water and watch it
evaporate, you could freeze water to make it into a solid, and you could use water in its liquid form as part of cooking. If you have several kids, ask them to predict how long it will take for an ice cube to
become water vapor on the stove top.
You can design experiments that show what happens to cookies if you leave out the baking soda or the flour. My daughter got firsthand
experience with this very thing last weekend when we ran out of flour and I was too lazy to run to the store. Pancake mix is not a good substitute.
Literature and Cooking
Another fun way to use cooking in your
homeschooling lessons is by incorporating it into your studies of literature. For many years, schools across the country have been serving green eggs and ham to celebrate the Dr. Seuss classic. Your
child could prepare the same thing with a little bit of food coloring.
When your kids are reading stories about children in different lands, find recipes for the foods that kids eat in those countries. You can
create a whole meal revolving around a foreign country, and cooking up the native food is an educational winner.
Another idea is to set aside a certain part of the day for literature discussion. Your kids can prepare a snack while discussing the book they
are reading. It's a good way to get them used to discussing books.
Art and Cooking
One of the other nice things about the kitchen is that it's a great place for kids to show off their creativity. Children can use
traditional food items, such as uncooked macaroni, to create artwork. They can also make pancakes to look like a butterflies or mice. Ask your kids to create a sugar cookie then decorate it so that it
serves as a model of a human cell.
With kids cooking in the kitchen, the time can be both educational and fun. For a cooking kids' website all their own, visit www.cookinkids.com. Help them explore new worlds
through easy kid-friendly recipes at home!
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