July 08, 2017

Quote of the Week

"Cooking with children is not just about ingredients, recipes and cooking. It's about harnessing imagination, empowerment and creativity." - Guy Fieri

Kids In The Kitchen: Learning Through Cooking

"When you think back to memories of your childhood, you may remember a time when you helped a relative prepare a meal or bake a batch of cookies. You may recall feelings of warmth, closeness, and the joy of working together to create something tasty to eat. Perhaps you have even created this type of memory with your own child. Not only is cooking with your child a wonderful bonding opportunity, many things can be learned through experiences with food.

Children learn by touching, tasting, seeing, feeling, and listening. Cooking activities are ideal for children because all their senses are stimulated. When a child’s senses are engaged as they are during cooking experiences, learning becomes meaningful and memorable. Through experiences with food, children as young as three years old can successfully learn the concept of eating a variety of foods from each of the five food groups." [read more]

Reading Corner

Title: How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World
By: Marjorie Priceman
Ages: 3-7

Why? "I truly enjoyed reading How to Make Apple Pie and See the World. It is about a little girl who wants to make an apple pie to share with friends. When she goes to the market she realizes that the market is closed. But that does not stop her. She goes on an adventure around the world to gather her self the freshest ingredients for her pie.  I have a true love for traveling and learning about different cultures and this is the perfect book to help spark that same love in children. The story provides the reader with great points about how far our food really does come to reach our homes." - Amazon Reviewer

Be the Change

We can often forget the most common spaces of learning available to kids everyday - our homes and especially our kitchens!   Cook up a special meal with your children. Let them experience the joy of togetherness as they explore and learn to count, problem solve, make mistakes, get messy all while enjoying your undivided attention. For more inspiration, read about one mom's surprising experience of cooking together with her kids and how they expanded this new-found hobby together!