1. Ask them for ideas
Having your children pick out groceries or search for recipes online will get them excited to cook and bring their ideas to life. Ask them what they want to make to give them ownership of the meal.
2. Help chop the ingredients
Cutting vegetables with child-friendly scissors is an easy way for kids to take their arts and crafts skills from the classroom to the kitchen. Bell peppers, scallions, cheese, and tomatoes are easily cut with a pair of dull scissors. ou can also give them a bench scraper to cut softer fruits and vegetables like watermelon or zucchini.
3. Measure ingredients
If your children are learning math skills, measuring out ingredients is a great way to practice. How many ¼ cups are in a full cup? What do 3 tablespoons plus 2 tablespoons equal? Adding, subtracting, dividing, and multiplying are all useful skills to have in the kitchen. As they get older, you can start mixing and matching measurements to make things more complicated.
4. Mixing with hands or stirring
Stir with a wooden spoon or mixing straight with your hands. It can be fun to learn about different textures and incorporate ingredients together. Just be sure they wash their hands before and after.
5. Taste-testing
Taste as you go, to see if the recipe needs more salt, or trying a final product–these are all ways that kids can learn about new flavors and foods.
