I spent a lot of happy times cooking with our son Nick before he left home for sunny Stetson University!
So, I’ve been looking for other kids who I can teach to cook.
Meet Grace! Grace is my friend Lora’s eight year-old daughter, and we usually color Easter eggs together. Since we weren’t able to do that this year, Grace came over on Friday morning to cook with me. She looked at a lot of Nick’s cookbooks, and finally decided on two things she wanted to make:
- Lemon-Lime Soda (from Pretend Soup, by Mollie Katzen)
- Chocolate Butterscotch Bars (from Cookies by Hilarie Walden)
Cooking is a practical hands-on way to help kids read carefully (because recipes can be complicated), and hone their math skills. Case in point. The bars took a lot of time (because of three layers and a lot of steps) but we made them because they contained hazelnuts (which her mom loves). Our lemon-lime soda had to be multiplied by three (one glass for her, me, and her mom) and was the refreshing hit of the morning. Grace did a great job at reading, multiplication, and fractions!
Involve your kids in preparing food – kids like to work with their hands and enjoy being with you. Don’t shortchange your family by sticking kids in front of the TV or computer while you do all the work (and hopefully have all the fun) in the kitchen.
Cooking with Grace made me remember how much I love cooking with kids. Wouldn’t it be too cool to have a kids-only cooking school?!
You must be logged in to post a comment.