Do you incorporate kitchen learning into your homeschool? I’ve found it a great way to teach my kids a lot of things, and not just about how to cook, although that is a huge life skill they should know. Far too many people are relying on boxed mixes and drive-through when they get hungry, and everyone should know how to make a meal with actual, real ingredients. You can do a lot of good for your children as you teach them these basic skills.
But you can also teach them math as they learn how to double or half a recipe. You can teach them about health and nutrition as you plan out meals. You can teach them about chemistry as you show them how yeast works in warm water, and how the salt keeps the yeast from taking over the kitchen.
You can teach them resourceful thinking as they plan a meal with just the things left in the kitchen after a long week. You can encourage them to work together to meet a desired end. You can talk about germs while teaching them the basics of kitchen hygiene and how to properly cool your food before refrigeration to avoid food poisoning.
There are so many great lessons to be found in a kitchen. Quite possibly the best lessons are found in interpersonal relationships and how to share while pouring in the chocolate chips, how to say please and thank you, and how sitting down together for a good meal brings everyone closer together. Of course, there is the lesson that comes when children realize how much work goes into cooking – they are suddenly more grateful for their dinner because it was hard work.
You can assign kitchen tasks according to the ages of your children—even little ones can help stir, while the older ones can do the more dangerous tasks like chopping or draining pasta. Every meal they know how to make will help them become a little more self-sufficient, and chances are, they’re really going to enjoy it.
Related Blogs:
Cooking with Kids from Baby through Toddler
Progressive Cooking Class for Kids
Lessons to Love: Holiday Cooking