When planning learning activities for children, remember food preparation! Few other activities teach as many skills as food preparation. Cooking is the ultimate multi-sensory activity: children see the ingredients, equipment, and recipes; they hear the ingredients being mixed, chopped, and poured; they smell the aromas of the kitchen; they touch the ingredients as they prepare them and experience their unique textures; and finally, they taste the product they have prepared.

Many common concerns about food preparation activities, like safety and sanitation, can be addressed by using developmentally appropriate, carefully planned activities.

When children prepare food, they learn useful life skills. Food preparation activities encourage learning about foods, nutrition, hygiene, and kitchen safety. These activities involve stirring, mashing, and other movements that promote motor development.

A group of children (or a child and an adult) are working cooperatively when preparing food, which develops social skills. A recipe shows children the importance of following instructions.
Measuring and counting ingredients develop math skills, and talking about preparing the food increases vocabulary. Converting batter into pancakes or apples into applesauce teaches children about change and transformation, important science concepts.

Finally, food preparation gives children a sense of satisfaction and achievement for completing an activity often reserved for “grown-ups.” Preparing food lets children see a project through from start to finish and gives them a sense of competence.

Selecting a food preparation activity that is appropriate for the children in your care depends on several factors. You need to consider the facilities, equipment, and financial resources that are available, the time your daily schedule allows, how many children will participate in the activity, and how many adults are available to help and supervise.

One important consideration is the age and developmental level of the children. Safe food preparation activities are those that are age- and developmentally-appropriate. Activities that are not suited to a child’s physical, cognitive, or social/emotional development not only confuse and frustrate, they also can lead to injuries.

Since two-year-olds have short attention spans, look for quick activities that require few steps, such as making sandwiches or lemonade. Two-year-olds’ vocabularies are expanding at an amazing rate, so take advantage of opportunities to expose them to new food preparation words, like “sifter” and “spatula.”

To stimulate motor development, encourage two-year-olds to use the large muscles in their arms by scrubbing vegetables or tabletops, tearing lettuce or greens, breaking and snapping vegetables, and dunking finger foods into spreads and dips.

Two-year-olds can be prone to tantrums, so pick a time to try food preparation when the children are rested and engaged. Also, two-year-olds are not yet ready to share, so make sure you have enough equipment and supplies to go around. This will help prevent squabbles.

Three-year-olds are able to play more cooperatively than twos, so food preparation activities that involve some working together are appropriate. Three-year-olds love to “help,” so you will most likely have enthusiastic participation.

Food preparation offers three-year-olds excellent opportunities to look at shapes (like round bowls and square pans), color (like orange carrots and green lettuce), size (like the “biggest” measuring cup versus the “smallest”), and number (adding one spoonful or two).

Sorting is another task for this age, so think of ways to incorporate this into food preparation. This could mean sorting cups from bowls, or spoons from forks. Three-year-olds are working on gaining control of their hands, so activities like pouring liquids, mixing ingredients, kneading dough, and serving foods are appropriate.

Four-year-olds are fond of asking questions, especially “why?”; so you may be answering lots of “whys” during food preparation with children this age. Similar to three-year-olds, fours love to help; so be prepared for lots of “assistance!”

Four-year-olds are mastering control of their fingers; so tasks that require finger manipulation, such as peeling cooked eggs or oranges, cutting soft foods with a table knife (with supervision, of course), or mashing bananas or other soft foods, are desirable.

Four-year-olds have typically grasped the basics of order and sequencing, and following a simple recipe is an activity many of them will enjoy.

Remember to evaluate food preparation activities in advance for safety and sanitation concerns. Think in terms of modeling “best practices” in terms of hygiene and safety.

In particular, think about the use of heat, sharp utensils, and motorized equipment (i.e., blenders or mixers), and consider ways to adapt a food preparation activity to make it safer for children. You should not automatically disqualify a recipe because it requires those items; just consider how (or if) it can be done safely in your specific situation. Assembling equipment, ingredients, and supplies before you start will make the activity run smoother.

Remember the “simple is best” principle when selecting food preparation activities for young children. Complicated projects can lead to frustration and aggravation, while simple activities tend to result in smiles and success.

And as always when planning activities with young children, remember to model handwashing--wash your hands in front of young children--and encourage frequent and thorough handwashing among the children. Particularly with food activities, handwashing should be done before and after the preparation… and sometimes during the lessons!

Food preparation activities are worthwhile, valuable, and fun. Matching tasks to children’s ages and developmental levels, organizing the activity beforehand, and making adaptations for safety and cleanliness will help ensure a successful project!

Marna Holland, Parent Educator, Asheville, NC, City Schools Preschool and Instructor, Western Carolina University.

Cooking with Children, WIC Branch, California Department of Health Services, www.wicworks.ca.gov/education/nutrition/kidsRecipes/cooking_abilities.htm

Cooking with Children: Batter Up, Bright Horizons Family Solutions, www.brighthorizons.com/efamily/article.aspx?id=149

Cooking with Children: Kids in the Kitchen, National Network for Child Care www.nncc.org/Curriculum/fc46_cook.kids.html

Cooking with Toddlers and Twos: Professor Tim’s Training Wheels for Early Childhood Education, www.trainingwheels4ece.com/talk/cooking_with_children.htm

Cooking with Young Children: Web-based Learning Units, betterkidcare.psu.edu/AngelUnits/OneHour/Cooking/CookingLessonA.html

The Joy of Cooking, Scholastic, www.scholastic.com/earlylearner/experts/learning/3_5_cooking.htm

Preschoolers’ Food Handling Skills Motor Development, Virginia Cooperative Extension, www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/preschoolnutr/348-011/348-011.html

Safe Cooking with Children, Healthy Childcare®, October/November 2004, www.healthychild.net/articles/na42safecook.html