Teaching Kids to Cook

Now is a great time to cook with your kids. More of us are finding ourselves cooking breakfast, lunch, and dinner at home, so chances are children are in the kitchen with you anyway. Give them age-appropriate tasks and before you know it, you’ll have your own sous chefs. Having fun in the kitchen is the key to getting them involved.

A little patience is required when teaching children to cook. A simple task for you might be challenging for them. Each child’s skills are different, so progress with activities as their confidence builds. Go over ground rules first. Wash hands with warm soapy water. Tie long hair back. And this one is the hardest – no tasting until the food is done. For you, make sure the kitchen is safe, sharp knives put away and no cords dangling. Be sure to turn handles inward so hot pans don’t get knocked off the stove.

Tator Tot Waffle

Age appropriate tasks:

3-5 year olds – mixing, stirring, mashing, washing fruits and vegetables, tearing lettuce.

6-8 year olds – measuring, beating with a whisk, following a simple recipe, and cutting with child-safe knives.

9-12 year olds – help with menu planning, chopping, following recipes, with supervision pre-teens can be taught to use hand mixers, personal-size blender for smoothies, breakfast sandwich maker, egg cooker and waffle makers.

Huevos Rancheros breakfast sandwich maker

There’s an education component too:

Don’t forget the kitchen is a gold mine for homeschool activities. Measuring cups and spoons are a math lesson on fractions. Baking is a science experiment - waiting to see what happens when you combine different ingredients. Look up the origins of foods to practice reading. Describe an emulsion by making a salad dressing. Try writing a menu to come up with descriptive words. For a lesson on finance, fill an online grocery cart and see how much it takes to feed a family. The possibilities are endless and fun too.

Pancake Taco