A Recipe for Fun: Cooking with Kids
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“Cooking with kids is not just about ingredients, recipes, and cooking. It’s about harnessing imagination, empowerment, and creativity.”
– Guy Fieri
I love cooking with my kids.
It’s a new interest for me. Previously, I was apathetic about cooking. Now, though, I see that it makes my kids really happy. But it’s more than having an enthusiastic bake buddy; it’s about bonding with my children while teaching them life skills.
Ingredients: Why It’s Important
It’s pretty obvious that cooking with kids can be messy and take more time - but it’s a gift to them to be included in one of the most important life skills. It’s worth the mess, and here’s why: it develops a mature palate, helps kids try new foods, practices math concepts, provides opportunity to learn about good nutrition, promotes creativity and taking risks, grows confidence, ignites artistic expression, teaches project management and engineering…should I go on? It can grow a sense of community within your family and provide opportunity for your kids to show kindness and serve others. You could look up each of these reasons and see how to enhance your child’s learning in dozens of ways. That’s pretty awesome.
Directions:
Offer a place next to you at the counter:
Start off by inviting them to join you to make one of their favorite treats. If they can’t handle being there for the entire recipe, let them float in and out of the experience, picking up the mixing spoon when they choose to. This is a great way to have an at-home date with your child…a fruitful “Happy Hour.” It’s can be one of the most fun activities your kids will enjoy, especially if they get to lick the spoon.
Pick an easy or fun recipe:
If it’s early in your child’s cooking career, pick an easy recipe with few ingredients and steps. Also, simple steps will leave plenty of room to relax and enjoy being together. I’m not a skilled cook and so only embark on the simple and easy recipes myself, which I’ve noticed keeps things light and fun. If your child already has some kitchen skills though, let your child do the picking, customizing, and creating.
Raddish Kids offers a subscription box program with easy and delicious recipes with pictures and simple words, cooking utensils, and a monthly commitment to empower your child with cooking. Their flaky apple pie crust got rave reviews from the Spouse this past fall, and my kids loved making it and shared it with pride.
For simple international recipes, the Atlas Crate line of subscription boxes by Kiwi Co. brings you into the kitchens throughout the world. Last week we made German soft pretzels. With few ingredients and loads of room for creativity, the experience was gloriously delicious for all of us. We even played with our Deutsch greetings while we worked!
The Usborne book, Start to Cook, has helpful enrichment included with the easy recipes to teach your child about main ingredients, what they are, and how they work. There are so many fun cookbooks for kids, so just let them scroll or leaf through the books and pick one!
Choose one enrichment:
Choose one developmentally appropriate learning experience to focus on - be it fractions, cooking skills, names of utensils, etc. Here’s the magic though - just choose one. I have made the mistake of teaching too many skills and concepts in one recipe, and it took all the fun out of it…for both of us. As long as safety is not a factor, let them watch you and gently offer your expertise in the form of instruction when they absolutely need it. Let them make yummy mistakes and get a little messy. Avoid lectures and too much correction.
Point out the chemistry:
When the yeast starts fizzing, shish the kids and listen. Smell the mix, look for bubbles, dance to the sizzle. Use your five senses throughout the recipe so you are both fully immersed in the cooking delights. The real chemistry though is your special time together…and say that. Tell your child how awesome they are and how much fun you are having with them. Say out-loud, “I love creating with you. I love cooking with you.”
Share the love:
Enjoying your own delicious creation is half the fun; sharing is the other half. Community is built around a table, so involving your child in sharing the fruit of her/his labors with others is a meaningful way for your child to experience the joy in the gift of sharing. The encouragement from a child’s most beloved community is a glorious way to grow your child’s joy in creating with food.
Cooking with my kids is really the only way I want to cook. It was fun and motivating for me. The giggles and the quality time, plus the indulgence in the yummy result makes me view cooking in a whole new way. Cooking with my kids is truly a recipe for fun.
