Simple Ideas with Profound Impact

Everyone who knows us well knows that we really enjoy cooking. We spend a good deal of time in the kitchen preparing delicious meals. I like to be in the kitchen because it is a place where so much happens, a great gathering place for the family to talk and share their day while they cook a meal together. The kitchen is also the perfect place for hands on learning!

Here are some of my favorite learning activities in the kitchen.

Keep one bottom cabinet without a child-proof lock and keep non-breakable things in it (tupperware, plastic or stainless steel bowls, etc.). Let that be your baby’s safe space. When your baby is crawling around she will enjoy opening and closing the door, getting the containers in and out, stacking them, rolling them, and so much more. You will be amazed how much fun your baby can have just experimenting with these things while you are free to make dinner!

Another great thing to do in the kitchen is to present your child with opportunities for tactile exploration. When baking have her put her hands in the flour and tell her how soft it is, have her put her hands in the batter you made and feel how sticky it is. Yes, it can get messy, very messy! But, the more opportunity you give your child to explore and feel different textures the more she will develop her tactile sense and manual ability. All motor ability requires good tactile ability. And boy, cooking provides abundant opportunities to use and develop manual ability.

When I was raising Juliana, and now when my grandchildren visit us, I use a kitchen chair for them to climb on to reach the counter. At their home they use a learning tower which they call “the tower of power”! Once your child is walking and stable on her feet she can get up onto the tower and closer to the counter. Give your child lots of opportunities to join you in the kitchen and help you out.  They don’t have to make the entire meal with you but give them little jobs or encourage them to join in for as much as their attention allows.

Here are a some examples of what and how you can teach in the kitchen:

Tactile and Manual Opportunities

• Have her scoop flour or rice or whatever you need with a measuring cup or measuring spoon.
• Have her stir with a wooden spoon or any other spoon you prefer.
• Allow your child to get her hands in the food – knead dough or mix the salad.
• Make homemade play-doh with your child. (There are lots of recipes out there – here’s the one we use! It smells delicious and lasts for months if kept in the refrigerator)
• Whip eggs or cream (by hand) or even just pretend and whip in an empty bowl!
• Spin the salad spinner. You might need to put the salad spinner on the floor, or a low stool if your child is little and is not able to reach the spinner well enough to put the force necessary to spin it. I prefer the floor because it has less chance of tipping over.
• Have your child push the buttons to turn on the blender, electric mixer, coffee grinder, etc.
• Have your child crack eggs and eventually teach them how to separate the yolks from the whites.

Teaching Math

• Counting – When cooking there are lots of opportunities to count things in the kitchen. The eggs you are using in a recipe, the lemons, the avocados, berries, etc. Just get in the habit of counting things with your little toddler whenever possible.
• When eating fruit or any finger feeding type of food you can count backwards. For example, begin by counting how many berries are on the plate. As your child eats them say, “there were five and you ate 1 so now how many are left?” and count the 4 remaining berries. Repeat this as she eats all of them.  
• In addition to counting, while you cook you can teach measurements, fractions, and so much more.

Understanding and Language

• Teach your child the names of everything in your kitchen. It will increase her understanding.
• Teach colors using your tupperware and metal container lids. You can also get measuring cups and spoons that are in different colors and use that as a way to teach colors and the different sizes of the cup measurements.  
• Teach your child to sort things in containers or drawers – by family (all fruit in one basket), by color, by shape.
• Teach the concept of bigger and smaller. “The orange is bigger than the lemons and the lemons are bigger than the berries, etc.”  
• Teach space concepts –  inside/outside, on top/under.  
• Since cooking requires doing things in a specific order it gives children the opportunity to practice following instructions.
• The more your child understands the more she has to say!

While you are having fun with your toddler in the kitchen your child will gain the additional benefit of having her first lessons in teamwork and the importance of helping each other. And you don’t even have to tell her,  she’ll learn this naturally through the process of cooking! In addition, it doesn’t cost you anything. It doesn’t get much better than that. Who knows, you might end up with a little chef on your hands!