Cook up curiosity with hands-on learning in the kitchen

We all know that learning opportunities are all around us, but you may be forgetting one important learning environment: the kitchen! 

Cooking with kids may add additional work for the grown-ups, but the payoff is worth the hassle (and potential mess!). Hands-on learning in the kitchen provides so many learning opportunities! 

Here are just a few of the ways kids will stretch their minds while cooking: 

• Practice Math Skills— your child can help count items to buy at the store, measure ingredients for the recipe, count the number of times they stir a mixture, and countdown with the timer—the opportunities are endless! Incorporate “math talk” with words like less than, more than, and equal. 
   
• Practice Functional Literacy Skills— Making a recipe requires reading instructions and following directions. Recipes are also great at building vocabulary, introducing kids to terms they may not be familiar with, and providing them with a hands-on visual application of the word. 
   
• Computational thinking— Following a recipe is the perfect opportunity to work on computational thinking skills. Looking at a recipe can be overwhelming, but focusing on one task at a time makes it more manageable. Sequencing is also important when cooking—some recipes don’t work if you go out of order! Remember, mistakes are learning experiences. Use the recipe to check back and problem-solve!
   
• Explore new foods— Kids involved in making a recipe from scratch may be more interested in trying an unfamiliar food.
   
• Sense of responsibility and ownership— when children are involved in the planning, preparing, and cooking of a meal, they feel a sense of pride and accomplishment.  

You can find some easy, family-fun recipes on PBS KIDS for parents in the recipe collection. Making a recipe with your child's favorite PBS KIDS character can be a great way to spark interest!

PBS KIDS also has some fun games for when your little one wants to cook but you need a little less mess: 

• Donkey’s Froyo Stand
   
• Molly’s Winter Kitchen
   
• Cookie Monster’s Foodie Truck
   
• Elinor Soup’s Up

Enjoy the process and the mess of this learning experience, and maybe one day, they’ll be cooking for you! Happy Learning!