I love cooking with my three-year-old. Here are a few ideas about working in the kitchen that will keep your youngster engaged, give them a tactile experience, and provide opportunities for them to learn about math in the process:
- Come up with a fun cooking project! Does your kid like scrambled eggs? Muffins? Or maybe they like to play with playdough. Start with something your child is excited about.
- Make a grocery list together. Find a recipe, then have a conversation about the ingredients you might need to collect. The only thing more fun than writing a list is getting to cross things off!
- Talk about the recipe while you work. After you've gathered your ingredients, talk about the recipe out loud. How many cups of flour do we need?
- Let your child do the measuring. Here is a Tablespoon! Let your child hold the measuring cup or spoon. When it's full, they can tip it into the bowl.
- Watch it cook! After everything's stirred up and ready to go, pop it in the oven, and turn the light on, so your child can watch chemistry in action!
Here are a few tried and true recipes we love:
Popovers! from Pretend Soup, by Mollie Katzen and Ann Henderson
You can't go wrong with lots of eggs and lots of butter.
Chocolate Chip Cookies from Feeding the Whole Family, by Cynthia Lair
This amazing recipe has no eggs (all the better for licking the bowl) & maple syrup instead of sugar. Yum!
Playdough from Mudworks, by MaryAnn F. Kohl
Make your own playdough. So fun.
And if you really need a belly laugh, watch author John Green whip up some mac & cheese with his tyke.
Enjoy!
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