Learning in the Kitchen

Whether it’s real cooking and eating or a pretend tea party or picnic, children can learn a great deal from food-related activities.

Talking about the food infants and toddlers eat introduces them to words about color, shape, size, texture, smell and taste.

Preschool-age children love to make pretend food out of playdough or even by just using their imagination, but by age four they can also participate in making real food.

Around five or six when children are starting to learn to read and write, they would love setting up a pretend restaurant with a menu and a notepad for orders. They are also old enough to start understanding about healthy eating. Some popular children’s books help to teach lessons about a balanced diet are Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban and Gregory the Terrible Eater by Mitchell Sharmat. Children this age can also help select ingredients at the grocery store so they can have the satisfaction of participating in making a dish from start to finish. Check out the seasonal calendar for some easy recipes to make and look for kids' cookbooks in the library. You can find one cookie recipe at the bottom of this page.

As children get older, helping in the kitchen teaches safety, following directions, cooperation, math and reading skills. It’s also a great idea to teach kids that cleaning up is part of cooking! They will think it’s fun with enough bubbles in the sink.

Bake Cookies!

A tasty way to use some energy on a long winter afternoon:
Aggression Cookies: a recipe to make with children

3 cups of oatmeal
1 1/2 cups of brown sugar
1 1/2 cups of flour
1 1/2 cups of butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder

Dump all the ingredients into a large bowl. Mix it, mash it, knead it, and pound it with your hands. The longer and harder you mix it, the better it tastes! Roll the dough into small balls. Bake on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes.