Cooking is a really fun activity for you and your child to share together. It also helps teach your children about hygiene, food safety, dangers from sharp knives and heat from an oven and also has loads of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) aspects too, including capacity, weight and time. Cooking gives children a sense of responsibility, it gets them excited about mealtime and is also a great bonding experience.
Today, we’re here to help convince you to get your kids involved in the cooking and meal-making process. We’ll discuss the benefits in more depth below, plus, we’ll also going to share a few recipe ideas to make (and eat) with your children.
Benefits of cooking for kids
There are so many benefits of cooking with children, beyond simply teaching them to cook. Shredding and chopping helps build fine motor skills. Following a recipe helps with reading. Measuring ingredients helps with maths skills. Children also take a lot of pride in the family meals they cook and are more likely to try new foods. While my kids might choose to eat pasta and pizza or chicken nuggets every day, it’s important for children to try unfamiliar foods that have a variety of ingredients.
There are also a few science-backed reasons you should bring your children into the kitchen and let them help you cook on a regular basis.
· Children who cook, eat healthier foods.
· Baking is all about fractions and practical applications of maths. It can help children understand these mathematical concepts much better.
· Allows children to explore their senses – touching different textures, smelling a variety of ingredients, tasting food in different states of completion, etc.
· Children will often decide to try new foods if they help prepare them.
· Cooking as part of family traditions and routines help build stronger family relationships.
· Boosts a child’s confidence.
Five Easy Cooking Ideas
So now we’ve discussed the benefits lets look at some easy cooking ideas to do with your children.
1. Pizza Pockets - Let your kids choose their favourite filling for these little pizza pockets as a lunchtime treat or easy after-school snack, served alongside plenty of colourful chopped veggies. https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/pizza_pockets_09013
2. Fruity frozen yoghurt bites - Use whatever berries you have to made these frozen yogurt bites. Coated in dark chocolate, the kids will love these as a summer snack. Keep a batch of these in your freezer to keep the kids happy all summer long. https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/fruity-frozen-yoghurt-bites.html
3. Sausage and egg open pancake - This open pancake recipe is bound to be a hit with the kids. It's topped with sausages and an egg, and makes a great hearty lunch! https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/sausage-and-egg-open-pancake.html
4. Veggie Pasta Bake - This mouth-watering recipe is ready in just 40 minutes and the ingredients detailed below can serve up to 4 people. https://foodnetwork.co.uk/recipes/veggie-pasta-bake
5. Chocolate crispy cakes – made with chocolate bars and puffed rice cereal, these chewy, crispy cakes are quick, easy and catnip to kids! https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/collections/teatime_treats
We hope we’ve convinced you to try out cooking with your children. Have fun having a go at some of the recipes we’ve suggested and let us know if there are any others you try!
About Us:
Jabberwocky Children's Nursery is a Nursery and Preschool dedicated to providing the best that an Early Years setting has to offer in a colourful, spacious, purpose built environment. We believe in creating magical places for children and engaging children’s curiosity and imagination to inspire lifelong learning in a safe, loving, enabling environment. We embrace the fact that all children are unique and special and we strive to offer a programme of care and education that not only ensures children experience all areas of the ‘Foundation Stage Framework’ but that also appeals to every kind of learner.
Jabberwocky is easy to get to from Street and also Glastonbury, Butleigh and Meare. So if you are looking for a Day Nursery in Street or looking for a Day Nursery in Glastonbury or other local Mendip Somerset towns then please come and see us!
Visit the Jabberwocky Nursery website at: www.jabberwockynursery.co.uk
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