Kids Cooking Goals and Objectives

Cooking is a lot of fun, especially when things are in the correct sizes and proportions for small hands! The recipes we will be using for "Cooking with Kids in the Kitchen!" are designed to provide children with the opportunity to experience the taste, feel, and smell of their very own cooking. Each project is designed for young children and has been tested by eater, young cooks.

The objective is to provide hands-on, independent cooking experiences for young children.

Through individualized cooking experiences your child will learn to:

• read a recipe
• measure ingredients correctly
• combine and mix ingredients according to recipe instructions
• clean up the kitchen area according to parental standards
• identify healthful foods and develop a taste for nutritious foods

The role of the teacher-parent is important. Provide only as much help as is necessary, allowing the child to be as independent as possible. Make recipe adjustments to allow for the child's ability (for example, color code measuring spoons to assist in size identification or draw pictures beside recipe instructions to help them know what to do if they are still learning to read). Be there for your child to answer questions and to provide stimulating discussion as your child works. Encourage them to think about nutrition and why certain foods are healthy or unhealthy. Children will try foods they wouldn't usually eat if they prepared them on their own.