• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
That Recipe
  • Recipes
  • Members
  • Subscribe
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Members
  • Subscribe
  • follow the fun

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • Members
    • Subscribe
  • follow the fun

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Our latest posts » Uncategorized

    Someone's in the Kitchen with Mommy - Part 3 (Cooking with Kids)

    October 4, 2010 Filed Under: Uncategorized

    Toddlers making their own lunch

    The wheel was invented over 5,500 years ago.  It has been working just fine since then. I see no reason to re-invent it.  Similarly, there are oodles of books and websites dedicated to the hows and whys of cooking with kids, so I don't see a big need to rewrite all of that. You probably wouldn't be reading this if you weren't already interested in the topic. Instead I'll just share a few of my experiences, some links to other sites I think are interesting, and of course, a few recipes.

    MY EXPERIENCE:

    I started cooking with kids when I worked Day Care at the YMCA of Uptown Whittier.  Sometimes we would make snack for everyone, but during Y-Basketball we would make goodies to have a bake sale during games to raise money for the day care program.  My favorite memory is of a young kindergartener named Daniel, who was so eager to help that he came running across the room after washing his hands, crawled under a table instead of going around it and proudly held up his hands showing me he had washed them and was ready to help.  He grudgingly went back and rewashed after I promised we would wait to start until he got back.

    I also taught a home economics elective to some of the junior high students when I was a Physical Education Teacher at St. Bruno's School in Whittier.  It was one of the most popular classes, and I somehow ended up with quite a few of the "tough" boys because the administration figured I was used to dealing with them and if they really were interested in cooking they were less likely to act up.  The first day of class I had them all take this quiz to emphasize the point that you should always read the entire recipe before beginning - I caught all but two students.  The next day I heard from a number of brothers and sisters of students in the class who had been given the test at home (and failed).

    I have just begin to learn the joys of cooking with toddlers and preschoolers.  My son has been "helping" me in the kitchen since he was less than a week old and I plopped him on the counter in his car seat to watch me make a chocolate mousse pie for Daddy.  He now LOVES to cook, to the point of being a bit of a bit annoying about it.  Last night, I was trying to quickly whip up some biscuits while he was playing at the dining room table. He ran into the kitchen indignantly, grabbed the bowl that I had just put the flour in, put it on the floor, sat down and demanded "COOK!". So, he got to add the baking powder and shortening then attempt to knead it together.

    A few weeks ago, I helped Justin and a few of his friends make English Muffin Pizzas. A few pieces had no sauce and a cup of cheese, while others had plenty of sauce and a few strands of cheese.  Magically, once they went into the oven they all turned out perfectly (thanks to some quick fixing by the Moms when they were moving away from the oven for safety).  The kids had fun and were so proud of getting to help make their lunch.

    Cooking with kids is great fun for you and them, no matter the age or the number of kids you work with.

    OTHER SITES:

    This is hardly an inclusive list, just a few sites I thought were interesting.

    Cooking with Preschool Age Children - list of age appropriate tasks for 2 - 5 year olds.

    Cooking with Your Kids Helps Develop Motor Skills - corelation between cooking activities and the associated motor skills practiced 

    Age Appropriate Cooking Lessons - Full blown Lesson Plans for cooking with age groups from 3-6 year olds, 7-11 year olds, 12-15 year olds, and 16-18 year olds.  Can be used 1 on 1 or group settings. She encourages letting children younger than 3 help in the kitchen to the best of their ability and interests.

    Cooking with Kids /Children's Recipes - includes a section of recipes for the Easy Bake Oven!

    Family Fun Magazine Kids' Recipes - We got a free subscription to this somehow. We have made some of the recipes and I have torn out others to save for use when we are older.

    RECIPES:

    • Cinnamon Toast with homemade butter
    • English Muffin Pizzas
    • Hot Cocoa
    • Little Pigs in the Blanket
    • Mayonnaise
    • Meatloaf
    • No Bake Cookies
    • Ox Eye Eggs
    • Peanut Butter Balls
    • Pimento Cheese
    • Stuffed Celery
    • Tuna Sandwiches with a Twist

    In the next blog I will finish this series with a review of Cookbooks for Kids through the ages (or at least the past 60 years).

    Until then, happy eating,

    ~Audrey

    More Uncategorized

    • Happiness is Homemade Features: Crunchy Buckeyes, Wassail, Eggnog Bread, Red Truck Christmas Wreath and Tomato Cage Christmas Trees
      Happiness is Homemade Buckeyes, Wassail and Eggnog Bread
    • Pumpkin Muffins and Butternut Squash Recipe on #HappinessisHomemade
    • Happiness is Homemade Orange Cranberry Rolls and Carrot Cupcakes
    • Apples, Pumpkins and More on Happiness is Homemade

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    audrey humaciu in kitchen

    Welcome

    I'm your hostess, Audrey, an avid "maker" that believes home made is better.

    Whether it's cooking, crafting, gardening, home décor, even blog design, I love getting my hands dirty and trying new things... even if I make a mess in the process.

    Discover more about me →

    Fresh Spring Tastes

    • strawberry muffins in a muffin tin with text overlay "sourdough strawberry muffins"
      Sourdough Strawberry Muffins Tangy Sweet Muffins
    • carrot muffins topped with granola on a cooling rack
      Carrot Granola Muffins with No Refined Sugar
    • lemon blueberry jelly roll on a plate
      Lemon Blueberry Jelly Roll Cake Sweet Taste of Spring
    • spinach and strawberry salad with text overlay "strawberry spinach salad with hot bacon dressing"
      Strawberry Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing is a Delightful Spring Salad

    See more Spring Produce Recipes→

    tablet with ebook on display and text overlay "Seasoned with Love: 60 seasoning mix recipes from around the world"

    Tried and True Recipes

    • piece of bread dipped in cheese fondue with text overlay "alcohol free cheese fondue"
      Alcohol Free Cheese Fondue: Easy Family Dinner in 20 Minutes!
    • close up of popover in a pan with text overlay "Julia Child's Popovers"
      Julia Child's Popovers A Classic Recipe Made Easy
    • fork holidng a piece of lasagna with text overlay "no boil meat lasagna"
      The Original Barilla 4 Layer No Boil Lasagna Recipe
    • jar filled with granola
      Homemade Granola is as Easy as 1-2-3

    See our Top 10 Recipes →

    follow the fun

    • Bloglovin
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy/Disclosures
    • Cookie Notice

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Work with me

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2023 ThatRecipe

    Manage Cookie Consent
    We use cookies to optimize our website and our service.
    Functional Always active
    The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
    Preferences
    The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
    Statistics
    The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
    Marketing
    The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
    Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
    Preferences
    {title} {title} {title}